Sons of Sparda VI: Legacy of Dante
by The Night Lord
Summary: When the son of Mundus appears, Dante and the gang are in a race against time to prevent the rise of Mephistopheles and his mighty Archangel army. But in this great battle for the fate of the world, who will live and who will die? Plz R
1. Ten Thousand Years Ago

**Yes, it's back, rewritten and hopefully better than the last version. This time around, I've removed most of the Resident Evil stuff from it (though there will be some RE, just like the previous stories) and I've partially returned the plot to the original: dealing with Mephistopheles, who Lucia was trying to resurrect in End of All Hope. I hope you all enjoy this new version**

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**Ten thousand years ago…**

"**Why do you all oppose me?"** Mephistopheles asked, **"What have I done to deserve this? Have I not been good enough for you?"**

"**Mephistopheles, your time must come to an end,"** the demon prince, Athorias, said, **"Your ambitions have gone too far"**

"**My ambitions? I wish for nothing more than to expand our empire for our devout followers. Why must you oppose that, Athorias?"**

"He's not the only one," Abigail growled, "We all believe your time must end"

"Your tyranny must come to an end," Beelzebub added

"**This is foolishness what you are doing,"** Mephistopheles growled, **"I really hope, for your sakes, you have thought this through and are ready for the consequences"**

"**I believe my brethren and I are more than a match for you,"** Athorias said

The great demon, looking like something crossed between an angel and a bug, pointed to his two sons, Zarthros and Mundus, then pointed to Abigail and Beelzebub

"**For five thousand years, I have been generous to you, my warlords,"** Mephistopheles growled,** "And this is how you repay me! Damn you all!"**

"We are already damned," Zarthros said, "You were the one who damned us"

"**Our world and the human world can never be combined," **Athorias said, **"They need to be kept separate. Ragnorak mustn't be unleashed"**

"**The humans don't deserve this planet. They are a weak and violent species. They have no place. They must all be destroyed. Ragnorak can do that"**

Athorias hefted a mighty sword. It had a long handle and a circular blade, with a large red jewel in the centre. Named Excalibur, it had been created by the Linkin demons, who were well known throughout the demon world for their skill in blacksmithing. This weapon was the most powerful weapon that had been created so far and when Mephistopheles saw the large weapon, fear appeared in his eyes, for he could see the power residing within the blade and knew that it had the potential to defeat him

"**Very well then. If it must come down to this,"** Mephistopheles growled, **"You have already locked my Archangels away and hidden the key. But that does not mean you can defeat me. You won't. I will not allow it!"**

His green eyes flashing, Mephistopheles lunged at his former warlords

**_†††††††††††_**

**Twenty-five years ago…**

_Somewhere over Africa…_

The black sleek helicopter flew slowly over the numerous volcanoes littering the landscape, searching for the wreckage. It floated over one massive volcano, the wreckage of a jet place lying near the lava

"Take us down," came the order

The helicopter swerved towards the crater, hovering near the edge of the mouth, as several men dressed in black clothing and outfitted with high tech weapons and gear, as they made their way down into the volcano. The lava rolled in waves, as the men moved along the rocks, heading towards the centre of the volcano

"Well?" asked the leader

"He's here," replied another man, reading off a small heat-resistant computer, "He's nearby. In a comatose state, but barely alive"

"Move out, men. Find him!"

One of the men fired his grenade launcher into the side of the volcano, creating a rockslide into the lava so he could move around easier in the search. He checked his radar, founding himself close to the target. Leaping across to a large platform of rock, he found himself right next to the target

"Hey, over here," he called, "I've found him!"

Suddenly, lava was blasted into the air, as a massive, flesh-coloured tentacle reached out from under the lava's surface and impaled the man through the chest. Blood trickled down his chin as he was then yanked into the lava

"What the hell?" asked the technician

"He knows we're here and I don't think he likes it," the leader replied, "Form ranks!"

The men packed in together, their backs to each other and their guns aiming outwards, waiting. A bladed tentacle shot out of the lava and tore through two men, dragging them into the lava, as the rest of the men fired their rifles into the lava, hoping to hit their target. The tentacle burst up from the other side of the rock, but was knocked back by the gunfire. It retreated back under the surface, as a large flesh-coloured mass burst out from another direction, tentacles flailing. The leader took aim and fired three quick, consecutive shots straight into the centre of the mass. Electrical currents ran through the mass, knocking it down out of the air

"Bag and tag it," the leader said, "We have our target"

Several men moved forward, delivering electrical charges into the mass, rendering it still, before placing it into a large bag, then taking the mass back to the helicopter, as it lifted up and flew away from the scene

**_†††††††††††_**

**Now…**

_Devil May Cry, at night…_

"All washed up?" Dante asked

"Yes, Dad," five-year-old Ash replied

"Good. Time for bed"

"Aw, but Dad," Caitlyn started

Dante simply crossed his arms over his bare chest and the young twins instantly knew they weren't going to win the argument. Sighing like defeated warriors, Ash and Caitlyn got to their feet, before giving their father a kiss and heading off to bed. Dante smiled as he watched them go, as Trish came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and planting a small kiss on his neck

"It's a bit early for them to go to bed, isn't it?" Trish asked

"Maybe there's a reason for that," Dante smirked devilishly

Trish caught the look and smiled, rolling her eyes, before moving in front of Dante

"Oh and what sort of reason is that?"

Dante smirked and pulled her close to him, crushing his lips to hers, kissing her passionately. Trish wrapped her arms around his neck, before pulling back

"How about we wait until they're completely asleep? Don't want them asking questions we can't answer for another ten years"

"Good idea," Dante agreed

"Up here for thinking," Trish said, tapping Dante's temple, "Down there for…well, you know the rest"

"Alright now, you wicked temptress"

Trish simply smiled and walked away to their room, leaving Dante to check her out…which he did, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, eyes trained on her butt

"_God, I hope they're asleep now"_

Checking on his twins and seeing that they had indeed fallen asleep. Chuckling under his breath, Dante grinned and headed to his room to join his wife

**_†††††††††††_**

_Two hours later…_

"Ready for this?" the half-Frost demon, Maverick, asked

He was standing outside Devil May Cry with about twenty majinis. They were all carrying assault rifles, which were backed up with grenades and stun rods. Grinning and forming two swords of ice that covered his forearms, Maverick back to the building, before slicing the air with one sword. A majini came up beside him, holding a rocket launcher and aiming at Devil May Cry, then pulling the trigger. The rocket whistled through the air, before smashing into Devil May Cry and ripping through the office with a large explosion

"Wakey, wakey, Dante," Maverick said, "Time to party"

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	2. Devil May Cry Assault

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KA-BOOOM!!

"What the hell?" Dante demanded, bolting upright in bed

Hearing people enter the office, Dante hopped out of bed and quickly pulled on a pair of pants and his boots, as Trish left the room, heading towards the twin's rooms, as Dante grabbed Cerberus and a nearby shotgun, before leaving the room, just as the first of the majini's arrived. He aimed his assault rifle, but Dante was faster, firing off both barrels of the shotgun. Ducking around a corner as bullets rang out, tearing into the walls, Dante waited until the shooting stopped, before diving out and firing off both barrels again, taking down two majinis, then quickly slamming Cerberus into the ground, sending forth spikes of ice that slammed into the next five majinis, freezing them. Getting up, Dante ran forth and smashed the majinis apart, as another majini fired at him. Using Quicksilver, Dante dodged the bullets, before reaching the majini and taking the rifle from him, elbowing the majini in the face, then turning the rifle onto him. The majini tumbled down the stairs, taking out the others in a domino effect

"What is going on here?" Dante asked himself

Diving down the stairs, Dante fired the rifle in a wide arc, taking down majinis, before seeing two majinis with rockets launchers. He quickly dived into the bathroom, as the rockets smashed into the walls, setting off twin explosions, as a grenade soon appeared in the bathroom. Dante kicked it up into his hand and threw it back out into the office, setting off another explosion. While the majinis were distracted, Dante dived out, firing off the shotgun again, before reaching the weapons cabinet and grabbing his most trusted handguns, Ebony and Ivory. Their names carved onto the barrels gleamed in the flames, as Dante whirled around and let loose a barrage of bullets, forcing the majinis to duck for cover

"How do you like that, huh? Not so much fun when someone shoots back at you"

Dante laughed and kicked up a chai, before kicking it at the nearest majini, taking him down, as his shot went off and struck his nearest companion in the head. More majinis were pouring in, firing wildly, as Dante used his RoyalGuard ability to try and deflect the bullets, while making his way to the bathroom once again

"Man, this sucks"

Meanwhile, majinis had made their way upstairs and were heading towards the twin's bedrooms, as the first majini flung the door open, only to get blasted in the chest by a bolt of lightning, taking down three other majinis

"Come on, you want more?" Trish asked, "Ash, Caitlyn, when I tell you to, run"

Ash and Caitlyn nodded, as a majini stepped into the room. Trish crossed the gap with lightning speed, knocking the majini's rifle upwards, while punching her fist through his chest at the same time. Dropping the body aside, Trish peeked outside, before quickly ducking back inside when bullets riddled the door. Gathering lightning in her fingers, Trish flung the door open and unleashed a blast of chain lightning. It wasn't enough to take the majinis down, but it gave Trish enough time to unleash a more powerful blast of chain lightning, blasting the majinis down the stairs. Checking on her children, Trish moved to the stairs and punched the majini coming up, before tossing him down the stairs. Ice flashed and Trish cried out, now sporting a bloodied cut on her stomach, as blood stained her nightdress

"Maverick?" Trish asked

"Yep, that's me," Maverick smirked

Trish unleashed a blast of lightning, but Maverick countered with a wall of thick ice, smashing it down when Trish stopped her lightning. Grinning, Maverick then slashed with his sword, but Trish dodged and cracked him in the face with her fist, before grabbing him and slamming his head into the wall. Maverick broke away and punched Trish in the face, followed by a kick to her injury, causing her to cry out. Gritting her teeth, Trish blasted Maverick across the hallway, but he was throwing ice projectiles as he flew through the air. Trish dodged or blasted the projectiles away, as Maverick got to his feet, before unleashing a large beam of ice. Trish countered with her own blast of lightning, the two elementals connecting and entering a standoff

"What are you doing here, Maverick?" Trish demanded

"I take it you didn't miss me while I was away," Maverick replied

"Didn't even give you a second thought"

"Ouch"

Maverick released the ice beam, before creating a trail of ice and sliding along it on his back, as the ice and lightning energies flew overhead, taking out a wall. Before Trish could see what was happening, Maverick was upon her, kicking her in the stomach, then lunging up from the ground and striking her in the jaw, before pinning her to the wall with a sheet of ice. Trish struggled to get out, but to no avail

"Oh damn, that has got to suck," Maverick grinned

He turned his attentions to Ash and Caitlyn, before freezing them in a block of ice, much to Trish's protests, then tucking the twins under his arms and making his way downstairs, just as Dante removed Alastor from the dead body of a majini

"Maverick? Are those my kids you've got?"

"No, they're perfect replicas. Of course they're your kids"

"Let them go or I break your neck"

"You didn't say the magic word"

"Let them go or I break your neck, now"

"Isn't it funny how your kids always get kidnapped at a young age. I know that tells me something: never have kids. Honestly. It's the same with comic books heroes"

Dante threw Alastor, which curved towards Maverick, but he ducked, before knocking Alastor out of the air with an ice dagger when the sword came back from him. As soon as the sword clattered to the ground, Dante leapt across the room, driving his fist into Maverick's chest and unleashing all the stored energy. Maverick was blasted out onto the streets, sliding along his back, as Dante stepped out, Alastor in hand, his figure framed by the flames, as Maverick got to his feet

"So, you wanna play, huh, Dante?"

Twin swords made of ice slid down into view, covering Maverick's forearms, as he created a pillar of ice beneath Dante. The demon hunter had sensed the move and rolled out of the way, firing away with the shotgun. Maverick had created a wall of ice to defend the move, as Dante suddenly appeared before him, bringing Alastor down overhead. Maverick blocked the move, then slashed at Dante when he landed. Dante blocked the next flew blows from Maverick, before blocking a slash and kicking the demon in the chest. Maverick stumbled back, rolling away from Dante's Stinger, then slashing at his bare back. Flipping over the blade, Dante slashed at Maverick's throat, but he blocked with his other sword, before slashing with both swords and leaving a trail of sharp ice through the air

Dante rolled back onto his feet, the injury starting to heal slowly, as Maverick lunged at him. Stepping back, Dante then did a Stinger, which Maverick blocked, but the move still moved him back a few feet. Following on, Dante slashed with Alastor, as Maverick used both swords to trap the blade, but Dante whipped out Ivory and shot Maverick in the head. At that moment, Trish stepped outside, the Griffon Blade in hand as she made her way outside

"Oh come on, this isn't fair," Maverick said, "Two on one! Let's even it"

Two Hell Knights suddenly appeared behind Trish, as she whirled around and slashed wide, but the first Hell Knight caught the blade and uppercutted her, while the second Hell Knight sent forth a ball of green energy. Dante swung Alastor, but Maverick blocked and slashed, as Dante smacked one sword away, then knocked aside the second sword, before thrusting Alastor towards Maverick's chest. He blocked the blow in time, shoving Alastor aside, but Dante drove his rage-charged fist into Maverick's chest, blasting the demon across the street

"Man, that's one hell of a move," Maverick said, getting up

"Don't worry, I've got a lot more than that," Dante said

Maverick fired a beam of ice, as Dante used a Royal Block to stop the move, but Maverick was putting more energy into the attack, forcing Dante back. Finally, he finished the beam, slamming it into Dante and knocking him through the air. Dante crashed into a lamppost, as Maverick fired several small ice daggers into his chest. Dante cried out, as Maverick grinned and retrieved the frozen blocks of Ash and Caitlyn, before heading off into the night. Dante groaned, removing the daggers, then helping Trish finish off the Hell Knights

"He's taken Ash and Caitlyn," Dante said, "Dammit, why are our children always kidnapped? Well, except for Jenny, but still, why us?"

"Maybe because you're so well known," Trish suggested

"Well, I'm not letting him get away with this. I'm hunting him down and when I find Maverick, I'm gonna tear his head off"

Using Cerberus to quell the flames, Dante headed to his room, before getting changed. Hiking on red pants, Dante then put on a black skivvy, followed by a red vest held together with black straps, then sliding on black fingerless gloves and black knee-high motorcycle boots. Finally, Dante put on his red trench coat, which had black stripped padded shoulders and a long tail split in two up to the waist. Heading downstairs, Dante selected the shotgun, Ebony and Ivory, Cerberus, the grenade launcher, Gilgamesh and Excalibur, absorbing all weapons, except for Excalibur, into his body. Sheathing the legendary sword on his back, Dante turned to Trish

"I'll be back," he said

"Do you want me to come with?" she asked

"No. I'll be fine. It's Maverick. I can handle him. I'll be back soon"

Giving Trish a passionate kiss, Dante then hopped onto his motorcycle, started it up and set off into the night

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	3. Cathedral Fight

**XXXXX**

"How are you feeling?" Tristan asked

Lucia turned away from the window to look at him. He was dressed in his hunting gear, minus his coat and weapons, while leaning against the doorway, his arms crossed. It had been two years since the Goddess of Death had attempted to raise Mephistopheles and since then, Lucia had been living with Tristan, who knew a thing or two about having a drive for evil, then losing that drive and discovering the conscience beneath

"Fine, I guess," Lucia replied, "After two years, I should be fine. It wasn't me"

"Well, at least you weren't in the driver's seat, unlike wanting to be evil," Tristan said, "Then again, I was raised by a psychotic clown"

"Thanks"

"That's alright. Look, I'm heading out. Call me if you need anything"

Lucia nodded and Tristan left, heading to his room. She could hear him rummaging about, gathering his things, before leaving the apartment. Once he left, Lucia headed to the bedside table and withdrew a dead rat from the draw. It had been killed only a few hours ago, so the stench wasn't that bad as Lucia laid the body near the window. About six months after the Goddess' rampage, Lucia had discovered she still retained the ability to bring the dead back to life. At first, she could resurrect dead cockroaches (which were immediately killed again) and other small creatures. Now, she was trying larger creatures. Closing her eyes, Lucia hovered a hand over the body, summoning the power from within

"Come on, come on"

Power washed over her hand and she opened her eyes, seeing that the rat was completely alive once again, sniffing the air with its pink nose. Lucia smiled, proud of her success, before letting the rat scamper off

**XXXXXX**

Nero beamed with pride as his daughter finished the opening song. Applause rang out, as Evelyn smiled and nodded her appreciation to the crowd, before seeing the looks on her parents' faces and her smile grew wider. Dressed in the uniform of the High Knight, Nero headed onto the stage to pull his daughter into a hug, before leading her off the stage

"You did very well," Kyrie smiled, "Reminds me when I was young"

"Thanks, Mom," Evelyn said

"You made me so proud," Nero said, "You did great"

"Dad, you're making me blush. I was so nervous going up there, but Michael told me-"

"To imagine them in their underwear?" Nero said without thinking

"To imagine that I'm the only person there. Dad! You've been hanging around Uncle Dante way too much," Evelyn said

"Yeah, probably have"

WHAM!  
The doors flew open, as a figure walked in. The figure was dressed in shiny, jet-black armour, with small, sharp blades on his gauntlets and greaves. Spikes reached upwards on his shoulders, while long blades of steel hung down from his shoulders like a cape. His helmet was made to look like a cat's head, with slitted glowing red eyes and fangs carved into the mouthpiece, while the ears were sharp and stretched up past the head. He looked at the nearby pew, before raising his hand and firing a blast of energy that killed everyone in that row. Instantly, Order Knights surrounded the figure, their swords drawn, as he drew a long sword. The pale-grey blade was bumpy and tapered to a fine, sharp point, while the black hilt was carved in the image of feathers, as Kyrie was hurrying everyone out of the Cathedral

"_Why does this always happen to me?"_ Nero thought, _"And why here?"_

A Knight swung his sword, but the figure blocked him, before blocking another Knight, then blocking the first Knight, before swinging wide and slashing five Knights across the stomach, as another Knight lunged, but the figure dodged and fired an energy blast, obliterating his head. Nero drew the Gold Queen and leapt into the fray, slicing upwards, but the figure blocked and punched him in the face, before kicking a Knight in the stomach, then slashing him across the chest. Nero revved up the Gold Queen, before slashing and squeezing the trigger. The warrior was blasted across the cathedral, smashing through a pillar

"Okay, first off, who the hell are you?" Nero asked

"I am Memnoch, the son of Mundus"

"Okay, secondly, what the hell are you doing here?"

"I've come seeking the Spear of Azazel"

"Never heard of it"

"That's a shame"

Memnoch leapt across the cathedral, as Nero drew the Blue Rose and fired. Memnoch blocked the bullets flipping over Nero and landing on the stage, then doing a bow

"Why don't you look elsewhere for the Spear?" Nero asked

"Because all the information I've gathered has led me here," Memnoch replied

"That's a shame"

Nero fired with the Blue Rose, as Memnoch smacked the bullets aside, before blocking the Gold Queen and pushing back. Nero flipped over, punching with the Devil Bringer and slamming Memnoch against the statue of Sparda. Memnoch pushed away, flipping up as Nero slashed with the Gold Queen, then used the Devil Bringer to pull himself up onto Sparda's arm, slashing as Memnoch blocked. Nero then swung the Diablo Bringer, but Memnoch leapt out of the way, firing an energy blast, as Nero dropped between Sparda and his sword to avoid the blast. Pushing against the statue, Nero forced the sword away, before racing up towards Memnoch. He ducked the Gold Queen and slashed upwards. Nero managed to block in time, but was lifted up into the air by the move. He fired with the Blue Rose, but Memnoch leapt away from the bullets, before flying towards Nero and slashing wide. Nero blocked, but smashed against Sparda's face, before inclining his head to avoid Memnoch's sword. He went to push away, but Memnoch pinned him to the statue by his throat

"I repeat, where is the Spear of Azazel?" Memnoch asked

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Nero replied angrily

"Oh well. Guess that means you're no more use to me"

Memnoch sheathed his sword and raised his hand to Nero's face, charging up a ball of energy. However, Nero punched him in the stomach with the Dark Bringer, knocking him away. The energy blast smashed a hole in the ceiling, as Nero pushed off, grabbing Memnoch, then smashing him into the ground. Still in mid-air, Nero revved up the Gold Queen, then dived down, tip aimed at Memnoch. At the last minute, Memnoch rolled out of the way, as Nero struck the ground, gold flames washing out from him. He straightened, getting an energy blast in the chest, throwing him against the stage. Nero went to get up, but a laser impaled him in the shoulder

"It appears that you don't know the location of the Spear of Azazel," Memnoch said, "And therefore, I have no use for you. Goodbye, Nero"

He created a ball of energy, but another ball of energy slammed into him from the side, knocking him away. Nero looked over, seeing Kyrie and Evelyn

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked, getting up

"Saving your life," Kyrie replied

Memnoch got to his feet, turning around as his eyes flashed dangerously red. Kyrie and Evelyn unleashed another ball of energy each, but Memnoch knocked them aside, as Kyrie created bands of energy to restrain Memnoch. Nero removed the laser from his shoulder, as Memnoch broke the restrains

"Ah, the High Priestess of the Order. Should know a thing or two"

Memnoch flew at Kyrie, but Nero swung the Gold Queen. Drawing his sword in a flash, Memnoch blocked the move, before teleporting to Kyrie. He smacked her aside, then turned to Evelyn, enjoying the fear in her eyes

"Pretty little thing she is"

Nero cried out and lunged, punching with his Diablo Bringer, but Memnoch caught him fist and swung him around, smashing him through two pillars, burying him under the rubble, before grabbing Evelyn and throwing her over his shoulder

"If you want your daughter alive, you better give me the information on the location on the Spear of Azazel," Memnoch said, "You have three days"

And with that, he flew out of the hole in the roof, as Kyrie raced over and used her magic to lift the rubble off her husband, as he groaned and sat up

"He's taken Evelyn, whoever he is"

"I know, I heard it all. And his name is Memnoch, the son of Mundus"

**XXXXXX**

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, pull up here," Maverick ordered

The truck he was in pulled up to a stop, as Maverick got out, surveying the desert wastelands. The truck had been driving non-stop since Maverick kidnapped Ash and Caitlyn from Devil May Cry, hoping to lure Dante out. And sure enough, Maverick could see Dante as a small speck in the distance. A smile came to his lips, as he drew two small black seeds and threw them into the sand, then created two pillars of ice, before setting up a laser tripwire. Satisfied, Maverick got back into the truck, as it rumbled on through the desert

XXXXXX


	4. Shadowrunner Attack

**Sorry it's been a while since the last update. I've just moved house and currently unpacking things, but here is the next chapter**

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Dante left the small city and entered the desert. He had been riding non-stop, following after Maverick's trail, though he had been hampered along the way by several walls of ice blocking off roads, forcing Dante to find detours. Now, out in the desert, he twisted the accelerator, flying over a sand dune, just as a whooping sound went off. Looking over his shoulder, Dante saw the tripwire between two pillars of ice and groaned, as the sand started rumbling. Slowly braking, Dante watched as something moved under the sandy surface, before bursting out into the open. The Shadowrunner snarled, as several more burst out of the sand. Shadowrunners had a body like a greyhound's, but had a rat-like tail and their heads were triangular, ending in a hooked lip and made of very thick bone

"Great," Dante muttered to himself, "Here we go"

He revved the motorcycle, as the Shadowrunners started after him. Spinning the wheel, Dante took off, as a Shadowrunner arrived next to the motorcycle. Drawing Ivory, Dante shot the Shadowrunner in the head, turning it to black dust, as another Shadowrunner leapt nearby. Dante shot that one down, then fish-tailed the motorcycle to avoid a leaping Shadowrunner, then gripped the brake and popped the motorcycle into neutral, allowing it to move backwards at the same speed, as he drew Ebony and fired away, shooting down Shadowrunners and turning them to dust, before spinning the motorcycle around and kicking it into gear again. A Shadowrunner came leaping in from the left, as Dante drew Excalibur and stabbed the blade into the Shadowrunner's throat, then slashed across, killing another Shadowrunner. The sand rumbled, as more Shadowrunners appeared and then Dante realized in order to stop more Shadowrunners from appearing, you had to destroy the seeds from which they were spawned from

The sand rumbled up ahead, as a large Shadowtitan appeared. It was about ten times bigger than an ordinary Shadowrunner and looked like to be made up of them. It also had the power to summon Shadowrunners from its very body. The Shadowtitan roared and raised its large paw, bringing it down towards Dante. He squeezed the brake, then stabbed Excalibur into the sand, using the momentum and the sword to spin himself around 180, then twisted the accelerator, flying away just as the Shadowtitan's paw slammed into the sand. More Shadowrunners appeared, as Dante slashed wide, decapitating another Shadowrunner

"Come on, you want more?" Dante called

Grabbing the shotgun, Dante blasted a Shadowrunner in the face, then ducked to avoid a leaping Shadowrunner, as the Shadowtitan suddenly appeared, smacking Dante up into the air, followed by about ten Shadowrunners. Drawing Ebony and Ivory, Dante shot all the Shadowrunners surrounding him, as the Shadowtitan struck again, throwing him higher. Gripping the handles, Dante charged his demonic energy into the motorcycle, then twisted the throttle, then hopped off the motorcycle and swung it around, creating flames from the exhausts and incinerating nearby Shadowrunners. Spinning and flipping around, Dante spun the motorcycle around, burning the Shadowrunners and turning to dust

"Oh, here we go," Dante said, as the ground rushed towards him

The Shadowtitan burst out of the sand, swinging its paw and knocking Dante away from the motorcycle. He flipped away and kicked off a Shadowrunner, before drawing his handguns and blasting away two Shadowrunners, performed the Rain Dance, blasting Shadowrunners into dust, then flipped over and landed on his feet

"Come on, titan, come out and play"

As if on cue, the Shadowtitan burst out of the sand and let loose with a roar. Dante grinned and drew Excalibur, resting the tip on the ground, before drawing the grenade launcher, as the Shadowtitan pulled itself completely out of the sand

"Show time"

The Shadowtitan roared, as Dante fired off two grenades in rapid succession. They landed inside the Shadowtitan's mouth and exploded, as six Shadowrunners appeared. They growled and snapped their jaws, before charging at Dante. He extended Excalibur out, dusting a Shadowrunner, then sliced upwards, before slashing wide, dusting three Shadowrunners, before leaping over another Shadowrunner and slicing it open along its back, then fired a grenade at the last Shadowrunner, before turning around, as a large paw slammed into him, knocking him along the sand

"Son of a bitch," Dante groaned, getting up, "Okay, now I'm mad"

The Shadowtitan roared and lunged, but Dante leapt out of the way, slashing with Excalibur, as the Shadowtitan summon forth a group of Shadowrunners. Summoning Cerberus, Dante spun the sanchaku around, creating a wall of ice that the Shadowrunners slammed into, then were encased in ice. Dante watched as the large ice block smashed into the ground, shattering the Shadowrunners, as Dante landed and slammed Cerberus into the ground, creating ice of spikes. The Shadowtitan smashed the spikes, then roared and lunged. Dodging out of the way, Dante fired a grenade into the Shadowtitan's stomach, then rolled onto his feet, before wrapping one rod around the Shadowtitan's front leg. The large demon snarled and yanked its paw, throwing Dante into the air, then lunged and snapped its jaws around Dante. However, Dante forced the Shadowtitan's mouth open, then fired three grenades down its throat, before leaping out. The Shadowtitan roared in agony when the grenades exploded, before summoning three Shadowrunners, as Dante summoned Artemis and aimed the large gun

"Time to end this"

Charging up energy in Artemis, Dante aimed the main energy towards the Shadowtitan, before pulling the trigger. Three balls of energy slammed into the Shadowrunners, turning them to dust, while a larger ball of energy slammed into the Shadowtitan. It collapsed on its side, as Dante moved in, splitting its stomach open with Excalibur. The Shadowtitan roared and faded away, as several Shadowrunners appeared. Dante sighed and got onto the motorcycle, starting it up

"Now, where are those little seeds?"

Riding towards the Shadowrunners, Dante wrapped Cerberus around the first Shadowrunner and dragged it behind the motorcycle, creating waves of icicles that froze the other Shadowrunners. Dante then shot the Shadowrunner, before summoning the grenade launcher, as two more Shadowrunners appeared. Smirking, Dante fired two grenades, destroying the spawning seeds, then pressed a button on the motorcycles. Blades popped out from the side, slicing into the Shadowrunners and turning them to dust. Retracting the blades, Dante turned his motorcycle around and twisted the accelerator, racing off on Maverick's trail

†††††††††††

"Man, these brats are a handful," Maverick said

He got off the truck, before taking off the ice blocks containing Ash and Caitlyn

"Well, we have them now," Memnoch said, "Dante's coming, right?"

"Sure is. May take him a while. Left a few traps for him"

"You just couldn't resist, could you?" Albert Wesker asked, appearing out of the darkness, "You just have to delay Dante, didn't you?"

"Well…yeah," Maverick said, "Don't worry, he'll be here"

"I hope it's not too long of a delay," Memnoch said, "But, I can wait"

"Chain those kids up before they defrost," Wesker said

A Linkin Beast picked up the twins easily, before leaving with them, as Maverick found a cigarette in his coat and lit it up, while Wesker went back to the computer stations, working on his data, as Memnoch joined him

"Does our deal still stand?" Wesker asked

"Uroboros for your help?" Memnoch asked, "Of course. Don't worry, Albert. Mephistopheles rewards those who serve him"

Memnoch smiled and headed off, arriving at the small prison and peering through the door, as Evelyn stood before the defrosting Ash and Caitlyn

"Your uncle is coming, Evie," Memnoch said, "And your father better have the information I need. I suppose you know it, but you won't tell me, correct?"

"Go to hell," Evelyn said

"Been there, done that. I'm guessing you don't know hell is like, do you?"

Evelyn didn't reply, as Memnoch smiled behind his mask and walked off, heading off into a large room, where several Goatlings and Linkin Beasts were working. There was a glow coming from a large door, as Memnoch surveyed the nuclear room

"Your time is coming to an end, Dante," Memnoch said to himself, "When you arrive here, this will be the place where you fall"

†††††††††††


	5. History Lesson

†††††††††††

"Nero. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Vergil asked

"I need help," Nero said

He was still dressed in his Order clothes, as were Kyrie

"Help with what?"

"Evelyn was kidnapped today. By a demon named Memnoch who claimed to be the son of Mundus," Nero said

Vergil paled. It looked like he paled, though sometimes it could be hard to tell

"He wants information on the Spear of Azazel. Since I have no idea what that is and I figured you would, seeing as you own a library on demon lore"

"Well, come along then"

Nero and Kyrie followed Vergil to his large library, containing books ranging from human myths and legends to demonic lore and large spell books, as well as books merely there for Vergil's reading pleasure, including a shelf full of car and motorcycle magazines. Nero smirked when he saw this, as his brother grabbed a large book

"Let's see, let's see, ah, here we are. Memnoch, the son of Mundus. Born sometime during the war between Mundus and Beelzebub over two thousand years ago, possibly earlier. It's unknown exactly when, but he first appeared towards the end of the war. Apparently, he was banished for worshipping Mephistopheles"

"Mephistopheles," Kyrie said, "Isn't that who the Goddess of Death was trying to resurrect two years ago"

"Yes, it was," Vergil said, "Let's have a look at him, because I believe I might have seen some mention of the Spear in his profile"

Vergil placed the book back on the shelf, before moving down further and pulling out a larger book. Hopping off the ladder, he placed the book on the table and opened it, searching through the pages until he found what he was looking for

"Okay, Mephistopheles was the original demon. No one knows how he came about, but it is known he was the very first King of Hell. This was well over ten thousand years ago. But before he became the King, Mephistopheles created three warlords: Athorias, Beelzebub and Abigail. Together, they conquered all Hell and Mephistopheles took over the throne. Now this is where it's fun"

"What happened?" Kyrie asked

"The warlords opposed him," Vergil replied, "See, Mephistopheles had a massive army called Valkyries. They were like demonic archangels. I think he wanted to poke fun at the angels of heaven. His warlords had the Spear of Azazel forged to lock all the Valkyries away. Then, they had Excalibur forged by Linkin Beasts and used the weapon to defeat Mephistopheles"

"Well, now we know how Mundus became king," Nero said

"No, he didn't become the king after Mephisto," Vergil said, "His father, Athorias, became king, but he died about a thousand years later. His son, Zarthros, took over, but he also died not long after, leaving the throne to his brother, Mundus"

"Mundus killed his way to the throne," Nero said, "Doesn't surprise me. So I'm guessing that the Spear of Azazel will release the Valkyries from their prison?"

"Correct and also, these Valkyries will have the power to bring back Mephistopheles. It was a back-up plan he had created just in case the warlords rebelled"

"Which they did," Nero said, "Well, that's what Memnoch is looking for, so we better find it first, otherwise, we're screwed"

"Memnoch said he wanted information about the Spear of Azazel," Kyrie said, "Which I'm guessing means its location"

"I can look through these books on the Spear's location," Vergil said, "But it'll be hard to find. I don't think Athorias wanted the Valkyries to ever return"

"Well, where did the battle between Mephisto and Athorias take place?" Nero asked

"Considering it was ten thousand years ago, who knows? It is possible that it took place in Fortuna. A lot of battles happen on Fortuna. I don't know why"

"Fortuna was the place of Mephisto's throne," Kyrie said, "It's where he ruled from, so there was a lot of demonic activity"

"Question," Nero said, "Why did Memnoch worship Mephistopheles? You'd think that he would worship his own father instead, right?"

"Nero, demonic father and sons usually war against each other," Vergil said, "We're lucky our father rebelled against those ways"

He got up from the table and put the book away, before searching for another book, as Nero sighed and looked at his wife, as Vergil returned with another book

"I've got an idea," Nero said, "Who exactly made Excalibur and the Spear?"

"I think it was a Linkin Beast named Azriel," Vergil said, "Why?"

"What happened to him?"

"If I remember correctly, he was imprisoned soon after the forging of the two weapons were complete. Again, I ask why?"

"If we can find him, maybe he could tell us where the Spear is"

Vergil scoffed at that

"The demon has been imprisoned for ten thousand years. If he isn't dead by now, how would he know where the Spear of Azazel is?"

"Well, we could always ask James. He would know, wouldn't he?"

Vergil sighed and got up from the table again

"Very well, I'll go call Jenny and ask her for him"

Vergil left the room, as Nero headed over to Kyrie and hugged her

"Don't worry, honey, we'll get her back, alright. We'll get Evelyn back"

"God, I hope so. I don't want to lose her"

"And we won't. I'm sure Dante and Vergil can take care of Memnoch"

"Nero, he defeated you with ease. I saw the fight"

"Yeah, but this is Dante and Vergil we're talking about. They can handle anyone"

Vergil soon returned and went back to his book, as Nero and Kyrie drew apart

"He'll be here soon"

Twenty minutes later, James Knight arrived at the house. Lady directed him into the library, as Vergil hopped down from the shelf

"Uh, you wanted to see me about something, Vergil?" James asked

"James, do you know anything about the Spear of Azazel"

"Yeah, it was created by a Linkin Beast named Azriel, used for the purpose of locking away Mephistopheles' Valkyrie army. Azriel was also the one who forged Excalibur and then, he was imprisoned to prevent him from interfering"

"Why not just kill him?" Nero asked

"Athorias might actually have had a heart," Vergil replied, "James, you wouldn't have an idea on the Spear's location, would you?"

"Not really. But I have heard or read somewhere that Azriel created a mental link inside the Spear, but I'm pretty sure that's just a myth"

"We know how those myths are usually true," Nero muttered

"Where was Azriel imprisoned?" Vergil continued

"Deep beneath Fortuna," James replied, "The only way there is with the blood of a Linkin Beast. But even those who have attempted to free Azriel have perished"

"Sounds good to us," Vergil said, "Come on, Nero, you're coming with us"

At that moment, Lady walked into the library, carrying a cordless phone

"Verge, it's Trish. She really wants to talk to you"

"Can you tell her to wait? We've got something important to do"

"No, I can't. she says its very urgent and that it involves Dante"

Vergil sighed and took the phone from Lady

"Hello?"

"Vergil? Listen, I really need your help"

"What did Dante do this time?"

"Maverick returned the other night and kidnapped Ash and Caitlyn. Dante set off after him and told me he was doing it alone, but I think he's heading into a trap"

"Trish, I know Dante. He can take care of himself"

"Vergil, I have a really bad feeling about this. Can you head after him?"

"Yeah, sure"

Vergil hung up and turned to Nero

"Change of plans. You and I are heading off after Dante. Kyrie, you get Celeste and go with James to Azriel's prison. We'll be back soon"

"What has Dante done this time?" Nero asked

"Maverick returned and kidnapped the twins, so Dante's off after him," Vergil said, "Trish think it's a trap for Dante, so we're heading out after him"

"How much of a lead does he have?"

"About a day, so we better hurry"

"Maybe Maverick kidnapped the twins and is leading Dante to Memnoch," Kyrie said, "It's highly possible that they're working together"

"Well, we'll be careful," Vergil said, "Kyrie, call Celeste and bring her out"

He and Nero left the library, as Kyrie picked up the phone and dialled Celeste's number. Vergil went to his room and got changed, before grabbing Yamato, Hellebore, Beowulf and the Phantom cannon, then leaving with Nero

†††††††††††


	6. Azriel's Prison

†††††††††††

"So, tell me why we're here," Celeste said

"To find a demon who could tell us the location of the Spear of Azazel," Kyrie said

James headed over to the altar and drew a small dagger, before cutting a line along his palm and muttering a spell under his breath, as Kyrie and Celeste watched. He ran his cut palm over the stage, as a red circle of energy appeared around him

"Has that ever happened before?" Celeste asked

Kyrie shook her head, as a portal opened up. James stepped back and drew his sword, before coating the blade in demonic flame, then looking at Kyrie and Celeste

"You coming?"

He stepped into the portal, as Celeste shrugged and drew the Dragon Blades, then stepped through, as Kyrie sighed and followed after her sister-in-law, arriving in a frozen wasteland. Demons of different species were trapped inside icicles, as a cool mist blew about at knee-height

"Whoa, what is this place?" Celeste asked

"Azriel's Prison," James replied, "I didn't know it was a frozen wasteland"

"Where is Azriel?" Kyrie asked

"Somewhere over this way. Linkin Beasts can sense their own species"

James led the way, as a blast of cold mist washed the flame from his sword. He gave it a confused look, before using his power again, but the flames didn't appear. Sighing, he sheathed his sword and created small fireballs on his fingertips. Luckily for him, the fireballs appeared, as Celeste covered the Dragon Blades in ice, while Kyrie created a couple of balls of energy in her hands

"Tell me again why I'm here," Celeste said

"Because we need to find the location of the Spear of Azazel," Kyrie replied, "James, do you know what's here that defeated all these demons?"

"No idea," James replied

"Who's there?" came a gruff voice

"James Knight, Kyrie Sparda and Celeste Kennedy," Celeste said, "I'm guessing you would be Azriel?"

"Indeed I am. I'm guessing you're here to rescue me?"

"Ah, good guess"

Azriel laughed

"Best of luck. You can't free me. You can't beat him"

"Beat who?" Celeste asked

The trio stepped around a large set of icicles, coming across a set of bars. An ancient Linkin Beast was sitting in the corner, playing with small balls of fire

"You're a half-blood," Azriel said to James, "Who sired you?"

"Uh, I don't really know," James replied, "Beat who?"

"He comes"

There was a crash and a loud roar, as the trio spun around. A massive demon had suddenly appeared out of the frozen lake. It looked like a massive, icy-blue crocodile with mist wafting from its snout, its beady red eyes fixed upon the trio

"That thing killed all these demons?" Celeste asked, "Shouldn't be too hard"

James unleashed a ball of fire, striking the Mastocrodile. It snarled and lunged at James, snapping its jaws and just missing him. He drew his sword and slashed, but the blade bounced off the demon's tough hide, as Celeste ran in and slashed, lightning bolts flying from the blades. The Mastocrodile swung its paw, smacking Celeste through the air, as Kyrie threw energy balls. They exploded against Mastocrodile without any effect, as Celeste got up and moved in again. The Mastocrodile snapped its jaws, as she leapt out of the way, summoning the glaives and slashing. Sparks flew from the demon's hide, as James stabbed his sword towards the demon's underbelly. The Mastocrodile growled and swiped, but James dived out of the way, as Celeste drew Freyja and threw a blast of energy, before leaping up and slashing wide, striking the demon across the snout. The Mastocrodile opened its mouth, unleashing a blast of ice. Kyrie covered herself with a shield of energy, as the ice beam washed over her and froze the shield, which Celeste shattered to free her

The Mastocrodile disappeared beneath the lake, reappearing with a resounding crash through the ice near Celeste. She leapt out of the way, shooting with her handguns, as James created a blast of fire that had no effect on the Mastocrodile. It roared and breathed a blast of ice that washed over the area. Kyrie created a large ball of energy and fired it at the Mastocrodile, but it shook the blast off and lunged at James, snapping its jaws at him. He swung Envy, clashing it against the snout, as the Mastocrodile then flicked its head, slamming James against the wall

"Told you you can't beat him," Azriel said

"Shut up in there," Celeste said, "I've got an idea. Hey, ugly!"

The Mastocrodile snarled and whipped its head around, breathing a series of icicles at Celeste. She charged up Freyja and swung hard, smashing through the icicles, as the Mastocrodile breathed a beam of ice. It washed over Celeste, freezing her in place, but she Devil Triggered, flying at the Mastocrodile and entering its mouth. The Mastocrodile reared back its head, as Celeste swung Freyja, slicing her way down into the Mastocrodile's stomach, then slashing a charged-up Freyja and cutting her way out of the Mastocrodile's stomach, spilling its blood and guts everywhere

"Wow, I have never seen anyone been voluntary swallowed," Kyrie said

The Mastocrodile roared and thrashed about, before collapsing on the ground. Celeste resumed her human form, before heading towards the prison, charging up energy into Freyja, then swinging it into the bars and shattering them. Azriel gave her a surprised look, before slowly stepping out of the prison

"Wow, I never would have thought I would ever be free," Azriel said, "Thank you"

"You're welcome," Celeste said, "Now, what do you know about the Spear of Azazel? And make it snappy"

"The Spear of Azazel? Why, I created the weapon as a key to lock away Mephistopheles' army of Valkyries," Azriel said, "I also created Excalibur to defeat Mephistopheles. Then, Athorias had me imprisoned. Ungrateful bastard"

"You're lucky he didn't kill you," James said, "I'm guessing he had some sort of eternity spell put upon you so you could live forever"

"Ten thousand years I've been here and I haven't liked it one bit. You know how painful it is to see your rescuers get slaughtered?"

"I've heard that you have a mental link with the Spear," Kyrie said

"Indeed I do. I didn't trust Athorias and as it turns out, I was right, so I created a mental link in the weapon so I had an idea of where it is"

"So where is it?" Celeste asked

Azriel closed his eyes and starting concentrating

"It is not on Fortuna…try…Mallet Island"

"Mallet Island doesn't exist," Celeste said, "It was destroyed thirty years ago"

"That's where it's been kept for the last ten thousand years," Azriel said, "If I recall correctly, the entire island wasn't completely destroyed. Only parts of it. But I should warn you, there's something there protecting the sword, so best of luck"

"Thank you so much," James said, "We really appre-"

At that moment, the Mastocrodile lunged forward, snapping its jaws around Azriel and biting him in half. Celeste and Kyrie threw an energy blast each, while James sent forth a wave of flames, striking the Mastocrodile. It let out one last roar and finally collapsed, this time for good, as James knelt beside Azriel's corpse

"Alright," Celeste said, "Let's go to Mallet Island"

†††††††††††

Dante knew he was catching up. It would only be a matter of time before he finally caught up with Maverick. As long as he didn't have any more delays, having just come from a battle with the Seven Sins demons. Charging his demonic energy into the motorcycle, Dante soon had the speedometer off the charts as he flew along the desert, using his demon powers to keep the motorcycle in check. Just then, something burst out of the sand, sending Dante flying through the air. His motorcycle came to a crash landing, as Dante slid along the sand. Groaning, he got to his feet and whirled around, seeing a gigantic worm-like beast with a circular mouth lined with fangs

"Stupid sand wyrms," Dante said, drawing Excalibur

The sand wyrm roared and lunged at Dante. At the last minute, he leapt out of the way, stabbing Excalibur into the sand wyrm's back and running along, slicing the sand wyrm open, then leaping off onto the sand, as the sand wyrm whined and fell open into halves, as Dante sheathed Excalibur

"That was very sad"

He turned around, as a portal suddenly appeared, before moving forward and engulfing Dante. He blinked, seeing that he was in a large room. Screams rang throughout, as Dante looked around, frowning when he saw that he was in some kind of mine prison

"Well, this is gonna be fun"

†††††††††††


	7. The Red Executioner

†††††††††††

Dante looked around. He was standing in a raised cage that had two walkways on opposite sides. Shrugging, he headed down the one in front, as a majini came running in, brandishing a bottle. He swung, but Dante caught his wrist and slugged him in the face, before throwing him out of the nearby window. The majini screamed as he fell, as Dante dived out after him, taking down another majini with Ebony and landing on his feet. Holstering the handgun, Dante looked around, seeing he was outside a brick building and that he was on a wooden boardwalk. Drawing his handguns, Dante stepped around the corner, as a majini swung an axe at him. Dante crossed his arms over his head, blocking the move, before kicking the majini in the stomach. The majini stumbled back, then swung again, but Dante was faster, shooting him in the head and blowing his skull apart

"Right, now, let's see, where we are?"

A fireball suddenly rocketed towards him. Dante dodged it and frowned, turning in the direction it came from. A humanoid demon with brown skin and spiked shoulders snarled, showing off fangs, before creating another fireball and throwing it. Dante dodged the fireball, then dodged the next one, before drawing Excalibur and batting aside the next fireball. The Imp growled and ran at Dante, hurling fireballs, as he deflected them, before moving to the side and slicing the Imp in half

"Hm, nasty little bugger"

Dante suddenly went flying as pain shot through his back. Groaning, he slowly got up and turned around, getting blasted through the air again, smoke rising from his chest. Flipping onto his feet, Dante saw his attacker, which was a much larger and beefier version of the Hell Knight. The Hell Baron snorted, before throwing a blast of blue energy. Dante smacked the energy aside, as it smashed into the building and exploded

"Come on then, let's have at it. I need a good fight"

The Hell Baron roared and pawed the ground, before charging. Smirking, Dante waited until the last minute, before moving in and ducking, driving Excalibur up into the Hell Baron's chest. Blood ran down the blade, but the Hell Baron grabbed Dante by his arm, before throwing him through the hole in the wall, then removed Excalibur from its torso and dropped the weapon aside

"Oh come on, I need that," Dante cried, getting up, "On second thoughts, no I don't"

He summoned Gilgamesh and shot forward with a punch to the Hell Baron's torso. The demon simply glared at him and backhanded him, as Dante landed on his feet

"On third thoughts, maybe I do"

The Hell Baron swung its fist, as Dante dodged and moved to his left, driving his fist into the Hell Baron's ribs, then stomping on the demon's knee. The Hell Baron growled and backhanded, but Dante ducked and kicked, before charging energy into his right gauntlet. The Hell Baron punched, as Dante ducked under and moved behind the demon, then swung his fist, the thruster popping out and discharging the energy. The Hell Baron was blasted through the wall, landing in a room, which contained the cage Dante had first appeared in. He jumped through and landed, before delivering six blazing kicks to the Hell Baron's torso. As the demon recovered, Dante charged up his gauntlet again, then ducked the Hell Baron's fist and unleashed an uppercut that launched him into the air, while shattering the demon's head

"That wasn't so bad," Dante said once he landed

Withdrawing Gilgamesh, Dante turned to retrieve Excalibur, but stopped when he saw the hulking demon before him. It looked human and stood about eight feet tall, with bulging biceps that were bigger than Dante's head. The demon was wearing a leather black apron and a red hood that was strapped to its head. But Dante's eyes were drawn to the massive axe the demon was holding. It had a massive blade on one side; a flat hammer on the other side and the entire head was covered in flames

"That's a big axe you've got there, Grandma," Dante said, "All the better to cut me down to size, right?"

The Rex Executioner growled, as its hand shot out with blinding speed and grabbed Dante by the throat, before lifting him up, observing him, while strangling him. Dante struggled to get out of the Executioner's grip and was suddenly dropped to the ground, as the Executioner raised its axe. Dante rolled out of the way as the axe came crashing into the ground. Flipping onto his feet, Dante drew his handguns and fired away, but the bullets didn't seem to be doing any harm to the majini. He had to duck the axe blade, but scored the hammer to the chest, getting smashed through another wall. Dante coughed and groaned, getting to his feet, as the Executioner stepped through the hole, then swung its axe overhead. Dante dived out of the way and went to leave, but saw two Hell Barons standing in his way. They fired an energy blast each, which Dante ducked, before charging at him. Dante teleported behind them, firing off the grenade launcher. The grenade exploded, however, it hardly seemed to do any damage to the three giants

"Oh crap, this is gonna suck," Dante said

The Executioner came for him, but Dante summoned Cerberus and quickly made a shield around himself, as twin energy blasts slammed into it, followed by the Executioner's axe, which shattered the shield. Dante slammed Cerberus into the ground, creating a wall of ice, before leaving the room and narrowly dodging a fireball hurled at him by an Imp. Dante ran towards the Imp, Dashing amongst the fireballs, before doing a flying kick, followed by another kick that knocked the Imp to the ground. As soon as he landed, Dante drew his shotgun and fired, decapitating the Imp, as its body melted away. At that moment, the door was smashed off its hinges, as the Executioner stepped through. It saw Dante and ran towards him, as he fired another grenade, before running off and entering a tunnel. Seeing the shadows of majinis ahead, Dante drew Ebony and Ivory, then starting running along the way, firing away at them and killing them, before exiting the tunnel, which led out onto the boardwalk. Dante followed it along, coming across a group of majinis standing before Excalibur. He chuckled and summoned Gilgamesh

"I advise you to walk away now if you know what's good for you"

The lead majini cried something in an unknown language and headed towards him

"Your funeral then"

Dante punched the lead majini in the face, then kicked another majini, before blocking a majini's bottle and punching him aside, then ducking under a majini's axe and sweeping his leg, tripping up three majinis at once, before turning around and catching a majini's fist. Pulling the majini's arm down, Dante kneed the majini in the chest and palm-struck him, throwing him back, before shooting back, then zooming in to deliver a powerful punch to a majini's chest, his fist coming out through the majini's back. A majini got up and drew a cattle prod and swung, but Dante caught his wrist, snapping his right knee backwards, before striking him in the chest with the cattle prod, then stabbing it into another majini's head. Once the majinis had been taken care of, Dante relaxed Gilgamesh and picked up Excalibur

"Sorry, baby, but now I'm back and you're in my hands"

CRASH!!

The brick wall came down, as the Red Executioner stepped outside, followed by the two Hell Barons and five Imps. Dante rolled his eyes, then grinned to himself, before Dashing at the Executioner and doing a High Time with Excalibur. The Executioner blocked the Helm Breaker, as Dante teleported to the nearest Hell Baron, sticking the grenade launcher's barrel in the demon's mouth and pulling the trigger, then kicking it in the throat, forcing it to swallow the grenade, before teleporting away as the grenade exploded, obliterating the Hell Baron from within, spewing blood and gore all over the boardwalk. The Executioner swung its axe, as Dante dodged, before running up along the axe handle and kicking the Executioner in the face, then flipping over it and taking down two Imps, before dodging an energy blast from the other Hell Baron

"Let's party, guys!"

Dante decapitated an Imp, before ducking under the Executioner's axe, which landed with a solid _thunk_ into the Hell Baron's chest, and extending Excalibur, striking an Imp in the chest and throwing it off the boardwalk, dropping it down to the ground far below. Rolling to his right to dodge the fireball, Dante spun around and rose up, jumping over the axe and narrowly dodging another fireball when he landed on his arms and knees. Getting to his feet, Dante summoned Cerberus, wrapping two rods around the legs of two Imps, then throwing the third rod around the Executioner's axe. As the Executioner drew its axe back, it pulled the Imps into the air, turning them into frozen blocks, shattering them into a thousand pieces when they landed. Dante sliced the last Imp in half, then turned to the Executioner, avoiding the hammer, before catching a rod and pulling hard, yanking the Executioner off balance. Moving swiftly, Dante leapt up, wrapping the chain around the Executioner's throat and pulled hard. The Executioner dropped its axe and flailed about, trying to reach Dante, but he did his best to stay out of reach, before using Cerberus' power and freezing the Executioner's head. He then leapt off and grabbed the axe, as the Executioner tottered, before falling towards him

"Say goodnight," Dante said

He swung the hammer, shattering the Executioner's head into a thousand pieces before it hit the ground. Once it landed with a thundering crash, the body melted away, leaving behind a small red stone. Dante dropped the axe aside and touched the stone, as it transmuted into a portal. Dante stepped through, arriving back in the desert. Smiling to himself, Dante got on his motorcycle and started it up, before roaring off into the desert again

†††††††††††


	8. The Spear of Azazel

†††††††††††

"Mallet Island," Jenny said, "No-one's been here for nearly thirty years"

"Except for us," Michael added, "So, this is where the Spear is being kept?"

"Apparently, Mundus has kept the weapon here," James said, "From what I managed to find out earlier"

He piloted the boat towards the southern end of the island and parked it on the coast, before getting out with Jenny, Michael and Lili, as she ran a hand through her short silvery hair, then rested her hand on Yitoma's grip

"Shall we begin?" she asked

"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Jenny whispered to James, who nodded

The group headed up the ridge, before reaching the top and peering down into the remnants of Mundus' castle. Thick black mist covered the entire area, as James sent forth a blast of fire. It struck the mist and was vaporised, as James shrugged and drew his sword, before heading down into the mist, as the others followed him, entering a large courtyard that was partly in ruins. However, they weren't alone. There were Guardian and Forger demons all standing around the courtyard, as well as two Tartarussians, two Orangguerras and several Pyromancers

"It's a party waiting just for us," Jenny said, "Let's start it"

Drawing Rebellion, she threw it at the nearest Guardian demon, before summoning Kraken and impaling three Guardian demons, as a large group of Seven Sin demons suddenly appeared. James sliced open a Pride, then had to duck as a Forger slashed at his head with astonishing speed. Michael caught a Lust demon with his Devil Bringer and slammed it into the ground, as Lili sliced a Guardian demon in half, before teleporting behind a Glutton demon and stabbing it through the back. One of the Orangguerras roared and barrel-rolled towards Jenny, as she leapt out of the way, slashing with Rebellion and landing, but then got struck by a Tartarussian, sending her flying along the ground. James flipped away from a tower of flames and launched a fireball at the Pyromancer, but the flames did nothing to the demon, causing James to sigh and race over, planting his sword through the demon's head

Michael revved up the Blue Queen and swung around wide, slashing through several Pride demons, then quickly rolled away from a Forger demon, punching it in the stomach with his Devil Bringer, but the demon glared at him and slashed at his head. Michael dodged and swung his sword, but the Forger deflected and punched him in the chest, leaving a small burn behind, then followed up with an overhead chop. Michael blocked and quickly swung down, slashing the Forger across the chest, before dodging the chained ball from the Tartarussian. The Forger was taken out by the ball, as Michael sent forth his Devil Bringer, pulling himself towards the Tartarussian and slashing with the Blue Queen

Lili decapitated a Pyromancer, before riddling a Lust demon with phantom swords, then slicing a Guardian demon in half, as a Forger demon slashed at her. Ducking under the fiery blade, Lili kicked a Sloth demon in the chest, before slicing upwards, but the Forger blocked and backhanded Lili, knocking her to the ground, then bringing its sword down overhead. Rebellion appeared, blocking the blow, as Lili stabbed the Forger in the chest, before getting helped to her feet by Jenny

"Some party," Lili muttered

"Ah, it's just starting to get interesting," Jenny grinned

She whirled around and sliced open a Greed demon, as an Orangguerra lunged at them, swinging its massive arms. Jenny and Lili jumped back, before moving down both sides of the Orangguerra and slashing with their swords. The Orangguerra roared and spun around, but the girls leapt over it, swinging their swords, before landing and whirling around, impaling the demon from behind. The Orangguerra roared and melted away, as the girls turned back to the other demons. James incinerated three Lust demons, as Michael decapitated a Tartarussian with its own chain. Within moments, all the demons had been killed, as the group joined up together

"So, where's the Spear?" Michael asked

At that moment, the courtyard started rumbling, as cracks appeared in the ground. There was a hissing escape of air, as something began rising from beneath the courtyard, emitting a bright light from the cracks

"Is that supposed to happen?" Jenny asked

The bright light continued to get brighter, before fading away, revealing a large demon, with largely defined muscles, its forearms and legs covered in spike crystals. Its long tail whipped from side to side, as the demon glared at them and roared

"What is that?" Lili asked

"I am Azazel, the demon form of the Spear," the demon replied, "I have been trapped here for ten thousand years by Mundus. But I thank you for releasing me"

"Uh, you're welcome?" Jenny said

"Now I can leave this place," Azazel said, "And spread the seeds of chaos"

"Um, we've already got some guy doing that for us," Michael said, "So, you were imprisoned into a spear by Azriel?"

"No, I was killed by Azriel and then my essence was forged within the spear to act as a key to lock away Mephistopheles," Azazel explained, "Then, Mundus freed me and had me imprisoned beneath his castle to keep me away from others"

"Well, that's a nice, sad story, but we kinda need you," Lili said, "In weapon form"

"Sorry to say, young lady, but that is not happening. Wait a minute, I know who you are. You are the descendants of Athorias? I can smell his blood in your veins"

"Nice to know," Michael said

"I will destroy you for what he's done to me!"

Azazel slammed his fist into the ground, creating large spiked crystals that lunged through the air. James put up a barrier of flames, but Azazel appeared behind them, backhanding Lili, before punching James in the back, then grabbing Michael by the throat and slamming him into the ground. Jenny swung Rebellion, but Azazel caught the blade and drove his fist into her stomach, followed by a second punch to her jaw that sent her flying through the air. Lili struck Azazel across the back with Yitoma, as he whirled around, creating forked crystals that rose up from beneath Lili, throwing her into the air. James sent forth a fireball, as Azazel let the flames wash over him, before shooting a spear of crystal into James' chest, taking him down. Michael lashed out with the Devil Bringer, but Azazel knocked it aside, before catching the Blue Queen and kicking Michael in the stomach, dropping him to the ground

"Wow, he's a fast son of a bitch," Jenny muttered

Summoning Kraken, she fired all the daggers, only for Azazel to create a shield of crystal, before shattering it and shooting a crystal spear. Jenny dived out of the way, drawing her handguns and firing away, as Lili fired several phantom spears. Azazel growled as he took the hits, reaching out with his arms and encasing the girls in crystal, before lifting them up and smashing them into the ground. James swung Envy, as Azazel blocked the moves and grabbed James by the throat, shooting lasers from his eyes into James' face, throwing him into the air. Azazel then dodged the Blue Queen and slashed Michael across the face. His arm tattoos turned white, as small white feathers appeared and Michael struck with the Angel Bringer, punching Azazel along the ground, then lifting him up and slamming him headfirst into the ground. Azazel snarled as he got up, stabbing Michael in the chest with three crystals when he lunged, then dodged Rebellion and grabbed Jenny by the back of her coat, before throwing her into Lili, taking them both down and kicking James in the face

"You cannot defeat me," Azazel said, "No-one can defeat me!"

"_Au contraire_," Lili smirked

Yitoma was glowing light blue, as Lili drew the sword and slashed the air. Beams of light blue energy flew from the blade, slicing into Azazel, as Jenny struck with the Drive move, sending Azazel flying through the air. He growled when he hit the ground and looked up to see James in his Devil form. He created a pillar of flames beneath Azazel, who teleported away and struck Michael, as Devil-Triggered Jenny and Lili struck with their swords at the same time. James impaled Azazel from behind, before coating Envy in flames. Azazel roared, creating spikes of crystal from the ground in an attempt to impale James, but he held fast, as Lili performed the Judgement Cut technique. Azazel cried out, as his body was covered in a bright light and he faded away, leaving a crystal spear behind

"So, this is the Spear of Azazel?" Jenny said, picking it up, "This is what could unleash the Valkyries?"

"Sure is," James said, "Now, let's get out of here and see if we can't get Evelyn and the twins back from Memnoch"

†††††††††††

Dante swung around the corner and twisted the throttle, flying towards the high fence. Grinning, Dante popped the motorcycle up on its rear wheel, before hitting a bump and sailing over the fence. He landed with minimal sparks, before leaping off the motorcycle, sending it crashing into three majinis, crushing them instantly. Dante landed on his feet, surveying the group of majinis surrounding him and he smirked

"Let's rock"

†††††††††††


	9. Dante vs Wesker

†††††††††††

"Let's rock"

Dante caught a majini's wrist and grabbed his belt, throwing him over his head onto the ground, then inclining his head to avoid another fist. Grabbing hold, Dante twisted the majini's arm backwards, then swept his legs out, before placing his other hand on the majini's shoulder and slamming the majini into the ground, tearing his arm out of its socket. The majini screamed in agony, as Dante Dashed towards the nearest majini, knocking the rifle aside and punching it in the stomach, then delivering a palm strike to the majini's chest, blasting him through the air. Dante then teleported to another majini, kicking him in the head and spun around with another kick, before spinning around and landing, delivering a third kick that knocked the majini down

"You want some more?"

Drawing his handguns, Dante began shooting at the rest of the majinis, using his Quicksilver ability to slow time down, allowing him to dodge the bullets with ease, whilst blasting the majinis apart with Ebony and Ivory. A majini swung his rifle, but Dante blocked and rammed Ivory's barrel into the majini's mouth, firing a bullet out the back of the majini's head. Spinning around, Dante kicked a majini in the stomach, followed by a bullet to the head, before shooting another majini in the head. Holstering the handguns, Dante summoned the grenade launcher and fired, taking out a group of majinis rushing in. Smirking to himself, Dante teleported to the group and drew Excalibur, before impaling a struggling majini. Another majini managed to get to his feet and raised his rifle, but Excalibur's blade suddenly ripped through his chest. Removing the blade, Dante closed the sword up, before looking around. He was in a large industrial area housing a twenty-storey factory and two massive smoke stacks. Dante recognised it as a decommissioned nuclear power plant and let out a low impressed whistle

"Nice place to hide"

A loud roar rang out, as Dante drew Excalibur and waited. Five majinis appeared, all carrying an Ndesu by the chain on its collar. The Ndesu roared again and reared back, yanking the majinis off the ground, before pounding them into pulp. Beating its bloody knuckles on its chest, the Ndesu focused its beady eyes on Dante and pawed the ground. Dante got ready, as the Ndesu snorted and charged. Leaping out of the way, Dante slashed the Ndesu across the back, as it roared and spun around, swinging its meaty fists. Dante dodged and dived out of the way, striking with Excalibur whenever he could, until the Ndesu caught him in the head with a powerful blow, sending Dante flying into a stack of crates. He grumbled to himself as he got up from the shattered wood, drawing Ebony and Ivory, shooting at the Ndesu. It roared and charged again, as Dante summoned Cerberus and slammed the rods into the ground, creating a barrier of icicles. However, the Ndesu smashed through the icicles and into Dante, sending him flying away. It seemed to laugh at him, before running over and grabbing him by the back of his coat, then throwing him through the air. Dante rolled along the ground several times before coming to a stop

"Okay, so big boy likes to play rough, huh?"

Dante got to his feet and summoned Gilgamesh, then headed towards the Ndesu. Ducking under its fist, Dante struck, delivering a blow to the Ndesu's kneecap, then smacked its other fist aside and kicked it in the groin. The Ndesu groaned, clutching its crotch, as Dante punched it in the face, followed by several high-speed blows, finishing the combo off by flicking his right fist back, as the thruster popped out and he drove his fist into the Ndesu's chest, knocking it back. The Ndesu roared and charged, but Dante struck with several blazing kicks, whilst charging energy up into his right gauntlet. Kicking the Ndesu again, Dante brought it down to its knees, before uppercutting it in the jaw and discharging all the energy. The move threw Dante into the air, while exploding the Ndesu's head in a shower of blood and bone. Dante landed, as the Ndesu's body melted away and he relaxed Gilgamesh. But before Dante could move on, clapping could be heard

"Very impressive," drawled a voice

Dante whirled around, as someone stepped out of the darkness. He was a tall, pale man with a chiselled face and peroxide blond hair slicked back. He was wearing black sunglasses, a dark purple woven mesh shirt, black pants and gloves, heavy combat boots and a long black trench coat

"Who are you?" Dante asked

"The name is Albert Wesker. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Dante"

"So, you would possibly know where my kids are, correct?"

"Indeed I do. Do you know why we have them?"

"Do I care? I just want them back, that's all"

"Hmph, very well then," Wesker said, "But first, you'll have to get past me"

"Easy"

Dante whipped out Ebony and Ivory, aimed at Wesker and fired away. Bullets rockets towards Wesker, but he moved with blinding speed, dodging the bullets with ease, ducking, spinning and weaving amongst them. He was moving so fast, it looked like he was teleporting. Dante lowered his handguns, as Wesker suddenly appeared, doing a butterfly kick that struck Dante across the head and knocked him to the ground

"You were saying?" Wesker asked

Dante swung his leg, but Wesker jumped out of the way, as Dante rolled back onto his feet, drawing Excalibur and swinging. Wesker dodged the blade, kneeing Dante in the stomach, before grabbing him by the throat and lifting him up, before throwing him through a stack of crates. Dante spat out blood and got to his feet, whirling around with a slash, as Wesker did a ducking spin, followed by a backhand. Dante spun around from the blow, kicking Wesker in the stomach, then swung Excalibur overhead. Wesker caught the blade between his hands and ripped it away from Dante's hands, before blocking his punch and striking him in the jaw. Dante swung his fist, but Wesker smacked it aside, before delivering a palm strike to Dante's chest that knocked him into another crate, shattering it. Dante flipped onto his feet, Cerberus appearing in his hand

Wesker teleported away from one rod, as Dante whipped the other two rods around and caught Wesker on the chin. Wrapping a chain around his boot, Dante kicked and flicked his wrist, sending the rod flying into Wesker's chest and throwing him onto his back. He flipped onto his feet, as Dante wrapped a chain around his forearm. Digging his feet in, Wesker grabbed onto the chain and yanked on it, pulling Dante through the air, but he flipped over and kicked Wesker in the face, doing a second kick as a backflip, before striking Cerberus on the ground and encasing Wesker in a pillar of ice. Sighing, Dante retrieved Excalibur, as the ice statue exploded

"Now, that was rude," Wesker said

"So, what's your deal?" Dante asked, "What's your business with Maverick?"

"Maverick? As if I'd align myself with that waste of space?"

"Not disagreeing there

"I'm helping Memnoch raise Mephistopheles. In return, I will be able to unleash my Uroboros project, creating a new genesis in a perfect utopia"

"You're screwed in the head, but hey, you're not the only one I've met"

Wesker dashed at Dante with astonishing speed, leaping forward with a rising knee, striking Dante in the sternum, followed by a palm strike. Dante managed to stay on his feet, as Wesker did an open palm uppercut, staggering Dante, before sweeping his legs out from underneath him. Dante didn't have time to groan in pain, as Wesker had grabbed him by the throat and ran him along the ground, before throwing him through the air. Dante crashed through more crates and fell onto his hands and knees

"Sorry, I was wrong," Dante groaned, "You're really messed up"

Wesker shot forward, but Gilgamesh appeared, as Dante drove his fist into Wesker's stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Dante followed up with a blow to the face and a kick to the stomach. Wesker staggered, but shot in and swung his fist, but Dante had shot back out of reach, before zooming in and delivering a punch to Wesker's chest, knocking him back, then ran in and did a Dragon Uppercut, launching Wesker into the air, before leaping up after him and swinging Excalibur. Wesker hit the ground, blood running past his fingers from the slash wound on his torso, as Dante summoned the grenade launcher and fired. Wesker reacted quickly, catching the grenade out of mid-air and throwing it back, but Dante smacked it aside with Excalibur, as the grenade exploded. Wesker dashed in again, only to get a shotgun jammed into his face. Smacking it aside, Wesker swung his fist, but Dante struck with a Stinger, the blade extending out and throwing Wesker through the air. He rolled back, his sunglasses having fallen off and revealing his glowing red cat-like eyes

"What the hell are you?" Dante asked

"The perfect being," Wesker replied

He was about to move, but something dropped out of the air beside him. Dante got into a stance, before seeing that the being looked very familiar to Hunter

"Hunter, is that you?" Dante asked

"No, I am his brother, Predator," the demon replied, before turning to Wesker, "Come, it is time. Memnoch is waiting"

"Until another time, Dante," Wesker said

Dante sheathed Excalibur, watching as Predator and Wesker headed off towards the factory. He shrugged and followed after them, before leaping his way to the top of the building and heading towards the glass dome in the centre. Peering down, he could see Linkin Beasts at work, as well as Wesker, Maverick and Predator. Smirking to himself, Dante drew Ebony and Ivory

"Here we go. Party time"

†††††††††††


	10. Devil May Fall

†††††††††††

"How's everything coming along?" Memnoch asked

"Everything is running perfectly," Maverick replied, "We're just waiting on-"

CRASH!!

Glass rained down upon the room, as Dante landed on a ledge, grinning at everyone

"So, is this a private party or can anyone join?"

"-Dante to arrive," Maverick finished

"Well, well, Dante, finally we meet," Memnoch said

His steel cape spread out like wings, as he drew his sword and flew up towards Dante. He grinned and leapt off the ledge, shooting away at Memnoch, before flipping over him and kicking him in the back. Memnoch slammed into a railing, as Dante twisted around and landed. Maverick fired icicles at Dante, as he dodged, before shooting at Predator, who had his chainguns engaged and was firing away with them. Dante dived out of the way, before kicking Maverick in the stomach, then whirling around and backhanding Predator, followed by a palm strike that knocked him away

"Wesker, keep working," Memnoch cried

He flew down at Dante and slashed with his sword, but Dante drew Excalibur and blocked, before throwing him aside, as Maverick creates balls of mist in his hands, before unleashing a barrage of ice shards. Dante leapt out of the way, as Predator flew in and slammed Dante against the wall. He elbowed Predator in the face, knocking him away, before dropping down and blocking Memnoch's strike, while kicking Maverick in the stomach. Maverick created an ice sword and slashed, before shooting a beam of ice, but Dante dodged, allowing Memnoch to be struck by the beam and frozen in a block of ice. Maverick created another ice sword and slashed, but Dante smashed them into several pieces, before doing a Stinger on Maverick, blasting him across the room. Predator flew down and slashed with his sword, as Dante smacked the blade aside and ducked under his arm, grabbing him around the neck from behind

Predator tried to throw him off, his chaingun blasting bullets around the room. Wesker dropped to the ground, as several Linkin Beasts were taken down by the gunfire. Kneeing Predator in the back, Dante flipped him over and kicked him in the head, knocking him to the ground, as Memnoch flew at him, slashing with his sword, but Dante teleported behind him, blocking Maverick with Excalibur and knocking him away, before summoning the grenade launcher and firing. The grenade slammed into Memnoch's chest, slamming him into a control panel and exploding, as sirens went off. Demons started leaving, as Wesker tried to stop the chaos

"Is this the best you guys can do?" Dante asked, "Honestly, I'm ashamed"

Maverick lunged and slashed with twin swords, but Dante blocked, as Excalibur started glowing and he slashed wide, slicing Maverick across the chest and throwing him through the air. Maverick struck the wall and collapsed in a heap, as Predator aimed his rocket launcher and fired. Dante dodged the rocket, as it exploded into a power station, causing more sirens to go off. Predator fired away with his chainguns, as Dante grabbed his shotgun and fired, before ducking around a crate while charging energy into the shotgun and firing again. The buckshot struck down Predator, as Maverick got to his feet, a whirlwind of ice surrounding him and he unleashed it as a blast of ice. Dante Dashed out of the way, before blocking Memnoch, as he broke away and slashed, followed by a high kick. Dante staggered back, as Maverick pelted him with icicles, while Memnoch followed up with an energy blast that sent Dante flying across the room and smashing into the wall

"I may have exaggerated," Dante said, rising up on his feet, "So, who are you?"

"I am Memnoch, the son of Mundus"

"No kidding, right? So, what are you doing, trying to resurrect your daddy?"

"No, I am trying to resurrect the father of us all, Mephistopheles"

"Mephistopheles? Isn't that who the Goddess was trying to raise?" Dante asked

"Yeah, but she was doing it all wrong," Maverick replied, "But we're doing it the right way this time. Once we get hold of the Spear of Azazel, it's smooth sailing"

"You know I can't let you do that at all, right?" Dante said

"You know that we can't let you stop us, right?" Memnoch said

Dante lunged forward, slashing with Excalibur, but Memnoch dodged, as Maverick rapidly threw about six icicles into Dante's back, while Predator blasted him with his chainguns. Dante staggered back, blood running from his body, as Memnoch slashed him across the chest, before placing his hand in front of Dante's face and firing off an energy blast that knocked Dante against the wall. Meanwhile, Wesker had managed to turn the sirens off and turned to watch the battle

"Even with your powers, you can't stop us," Memnoch said

"Then I'll die trying," Dante said

He transformed into his Majin form, as a red blade shot out from both of his wrists. Maverick shot forward with his twin ice swords, but Dante kicked him in the stomach, doubling him over, then rolled across his back, before smacking him in the face with one sword, as Predator flew in, slashing with his swords. However, Dante blocked and stabbed him in the ribs, then threw him aside and threw a fireball at him, as Memnoch teleported close, slashing, as Dante dodged the sword and stabbed him in the thigh. Memnoch fell to one knee, as Dante slashed him across the chest, before slashing him across the face. Memnoch staggered back onto both feet and brought his sword down overhead, as Dante blocked and slashed him across the torso, then stabbed him in the chest, before throwing a fireball in his face. Memnoch struck the wall and collapsed, as Predator flew in and slashed, but Dante ducked, before slicing diagonally upwards, then slashing across. Predator's head fell from his neck, as his body fell apart into halves, twitching, before melting away

Dante dodged Wesker's Cobra Strike move and slashed, but Wesker teleported out of the way, as Dante spread his wings and flew up to avoid Maverick's ice beam, as Memnoch took off after him, slashing with his sword. Dante blocked and threw two fireballs, as Memnoch barrel-rolled out of the way and fired an energy blast. Dante dived, as the energy blast ripped through the wall, before flying at Memnoch and slamming him against the wall. Memnoch fired lasers from his eyes, knocking Dante back, then flipped over and kicked him in the head, knocking him back towards the ground. Dante flipped over and landed on his feet, before leaping up and kicking Wesker in the face, then spinning around in mid-air and kicking Maverick. Landing, Dante lunged at Maverick, blocking his blows and slashing him across the leg and chest, then impaled him through his left shoulder and sliced upwards, cutting Maverick from his waist to his forehead, then tossed him aside and whirled around, as Wesker did a butterfly kick, slamming him against the wall

Meanwhile, Memnoch had landed and open a large door, which housed a massive nuclear reactor core. The centre was highly volatile and very sensitive to energy. Just a single drop of energy could set the whole thing off with a massive explosion. Turning back to the battle, he drew his sword and flew in, as Maverick transformed into his devil form and flew at Dante, slashing with his sword, but Dante blocked and sliced downwards, severing his right arm, before smacking him across the face twice with it, knocking him down. Dante then whirled around and leapt at an incoming Wesker, planting both feet in Wesker's face and kicking him to the ground, then quickly landed on his arms, pinning him down, before drawing Ivory

"Dodge this," Dante growled

He fired a single round into Wesker's head, then turned around, as Memnoch's sword ripped right through his stomach. The blade was covered in white energy, as Dante reverted back to his human form, spitting up blood as he clutched at the blade. Parts of Memnoch's armour was missing from the fight and his glowing alabaster skin was through the cracks, as he lifted Dante up on the sword and faced the reactor core

"You thought you could beat us," Memnoch said, "But it turns out, you're just not strong enough. And if you couldn't beat me, how can you beat Mephistopheles?"

"I'll find a way," Dante grimaced, "I'll always find a way"

Memnoch shook his head

"Sorry, Dante, not this time"

He fired the energy off the blade, taking Dante with it. Impaled on the energy beam, Dante flew into the reactor room and struck the wall, before falling towards the core. He landed on it, as the core sucked the energy beam from his torso

"What the hell is this?" Dante asked

The reactor core starting glowing violently, sending out shockwaves, as energy danced around the room. the door was slammed shut, as Dante got to his feet, looking around, before remembering where he was and realizing what he was standing on. Then, he realized what exactly was about to happen and he swore

"_Not like this. Not meant to go this way. I'm sorry everyone"_

"This sucks"

The core stopped vibrating, as the energy stopped dancing and the colours faded away. Then, before Dante could react, the core exploded

†††††††††††


	11. A Fallen Devil

†††††††††††

"Nearly there," Vergil said, "I think we're getting close"

He turned the Impala around a corner, as the nearby nuclear power plant suddenly erupted into a huge fireball, creating a mushroom cloud and sending shockwaves through the small city

"Hang on!" Vergil cried

Nero braced himself, as Vergil created a shield of demonic energy around the Impala, preventing it from being destroyed by the shockwave like all the other cars were. Lowering the shield, Vergil floored the accelerator, reaching the ruins of the power plant and getting out, tying Yamato to his hip, as Nero drew the Blue Rose. Memnoch, Maverick and Wesker were all standing outside the ruins, Wesker holding Evelyn in a half-nelson hold, while Maverick had Ash and Caitlyn frozen in blocks of ice, except for their heads, their eyes wide with fear

"Hold it right there," Nero said, aiming the Blue Rose

Memnoch faced the brothers, his eyes lenses glittering in the flames, parts of his armour cracked or missing from the fight against Dante, his alabaster skin showing through, as Vergil created several phantom swords

"Hand them over now," Vergil demanded in a low voice

"You didn't say the magic word," Maverick said

He groaned when ten phantom swords impaled him in the chest

"Great, I get my arm chopped off and then I get impaled ten times. Perfect"

"Let them go now," Nero said, the Blue Rose glowing bright red

"Do you have information about the Spear?" Memnoch asked

"Not exactly. We have an idea of where it is, but we're not telling you unless you give us the children first"

"Ah, bargaining, I like that. Very well then. Wesker, Maverick, let them go"

They obliged, as Evelyn ran to her father, while the young twins went to Vergil. Maverick sighed and lifted his severed arm to his shoulder, waiting as icicles appeared on his shoulder and arm, before fusing together and reattaching his arm to his shoulder, as the wound then healed over

"Where's Dante?" Vergil asked

"He's in there somewhere," Memnoch replied, "Not real sure really. Take a look"

His cape formed into wings, as Maverick transformed and together, they took off into the sky, as Wesker smirked, flames reflecting in his sunglasses and then he too disappeared in a blink of an eye. Vergil drew Yamato and cautiously entered the burning ruins, as Nero hung back with the children. Vergil began lifting aside pieces of concrete and steel, desperately searching for his twin, until he shifted aside a large piece and found Dante lying there, blood streaming down his body, his clothes torn and ripped to shreds, while Excalibur was lying nearby. Vergil fell to his knees, dropping Yamato aside and touching Dante's neck, searching for a pulse. However, sadness and shock overcame him when he couldn't find one and realization dawned upon him that Dante was now dead before him

"Nero, take the children back," Vergil called

"Did you find him?" Nero asked

"Just take them back home! I'll be there soon"

Nero took the children back to the Impala, before taking off, as Vergil picked up Excalibur, before summoning the Beelzebub Armour and lashing Dante's body with purple energy whips, then assumed the jet fighter form and taking off into the skies with Dante's body hanging beneath him

†††††††††††

The ocean began swirling, as if a whirlpool was taking place. However, that wasn't the case. Something far more sinister was taking place, sending shockwaves through nearby Fortuna. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned towards the ocean, as a massive island suddenly rose up out of the ocean. The island was about sixteen square kilometres wide and sported a huge gothic castle in the centre. Everyone stared in awe and surprise; all wondering if what they were seeing was real or not. Meanwhile, Memnoch stood on top of the castle, staring out at Fortuna with piercing blue eyes. He had removed his torso armour and helmet, his alabaster skin glowing in the rising sun, feathered wings folded against his back, as Maverick joined him, rolling his right shoulder around

"Well, that fight wasn't very fun," he commented

"At least we achieved one part of our goal," Memnoch said, "Dante is now dead. He could have stopped us, but now he can't and we can raise Mephisto without hassle"

"What about his brothers? His sister? Children?"

"They are nothing compared to Dante. We can handle them. Besides, they'll be too busy mourning and by the time they come to stop us, it will be too late"

"Perhaps, but we don't have the Spear of Azazel. Without that, we can't summon the Valkyries and without them, we can't raise Mephisto"

"Don't you worry about that," Memnoch said, "I've got Wesker on it. He's heading out to spy on Dante's family. Maybe he could get some answers"

"Well, in that case, I'll head inside and get things ready"

"You do that"

Maverick headed back inside, as Memnoch continued staring at Fortuna

"Soon, you pitiful humans, your days are numbered"

†††††††††††

Trish stood outside Devil May Cry with Tristan, Lucia and Jenny, as the Impala pulled up before them. Nero got out with Evelyn, as Ash and Caitlyn ran over to their mother. She knelt down, sweeping the twins into her arms, hugging them tightly, while kissing them on the cheeks, before standing and turning to Nero

"Where's Dante?"

Nero didn't answer. Instead, he looked to the skies, as Vergil flew overhead in his jet fighter. He dived, releasing the bonds, before relaxing the armour and landing on his feet in a crouched position beside the body of his twin. Trish fell beside her husband's body, tears running down her face, as Vergil struggled to hold his in. Evelyn was crying, her head tucked into her father's neck, as Tristan and Jenny knelt beside their mother, wrapping their arms around her, as she cried into them. Vergil rose up and headed over to Ash and Caitlyn, before ushering them inside with Lucia

"What happened to him?" Lucia asked

"I'm not sure," Vergil replied, "He took on Memnoch and lost. My best guess is, Memnoch killed Dante with something nuclear"

Vergil headed outside and stepped around Trish, before picking Dante's body up and heading back inside, taking the body upstairs, as Lucia joined him. She took over the job of washing Dante's body down and dressing him in clean clothes, while Vergil was downstairs in the kitchen, a glass of whiskey in his hand. Soon, the rest of the Sparda family arrived, joining the others in the kitchen, as Nero poured out drinks and handed them around to everyone, except for Evelyn and Spencer

"I can't believe it's true," Lady said sadly, "Dante really is dead"

"So, what are we going to do with him?" Celeste asked, "Bury or cremate?"

Vergil sighed and swigged his whiskey, before looking at Trish for an answer

"I'm not sure just yet," she said, "I'm still in shock"

"Understandable," Vergil said

He got to his feet and refilled his glass, before raising it above his head

"For Dante"

Everyone else repeated after him, before downing his or her glasses. Vergil placed the glass in the sink, before taking the bottle with him and heading outside, as Trish went upstairs to her room, where Lucia had placed Dante's body. Lucia herself was currently beside the bed, hands resting above Dante's body and her eyes closed

"What are you doing?" Trish asked

Lucia opened her eyes and quickly withdrew her hands, before getting to her feet and rubbing her hands against her thighs, as Trish looked upon her husband

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I still have some of the Goddess' powers"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I can still kill someone with a simple touch and I could also bring someone back to life. I'm been working on it since I found out about it"

"So, you could bring Dante back to life then?" Trish asked

Lucia sighed as she looked at the body of her friend. Thirty years ago, their positions had been reversed; only she had been brought back by black magic. It was going to take a lot more in order to bring Dante back

"I can't. I don't think I'm powerful enough. I've done a check on his body, however, and it is saturated with nuclear energy. Overflowing practically. It's no wonder why he died. However, if I was able to siphon the nuclear energy out of Dante, there's a small chance I'll be able to bring him back"

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Trish asked, "Do it"

†††††††††††


	12. Vergil vs Memnoch

†††††††††††

"Memnoch, I have some news," Wesker said, walking into the large throne room, "Young Jenny Sparda has possession of the Spear of Azazel"

"Where is it?" Memnoch asked

"At Devil May Cry, where they also have Dante's body"

"Hmm, looks like we shall pay a visit to them"

†††††††††††

Vergil was sitting on the front steps of Devil May Cry, a glass of whiskey in his hand, the bottle on one side and Yamato on the other. It had been a day since he retrieved Dante's body and so far, no one had come up with an idea on what to do for him. So for now, Dante was currently in his bedroom, watched over by Lucia. News of his death had swept throughout the demon world very quickly and soon, demons had started appearing more frequently now. Most of the family were out on the town battling against the demons, but Vergil was currently drinking away his sorrows, as he thought about his childhood with Dante and how close they were, to their separation and then their reunion that sparked off their intense rivalry, leading to many battles between the pair until they were able to team up to take down Balthazar

"Here's to you, Dante," Vergil said, before swigging the whiskey, then singing, "Oh, Spanish ladies"

KA-BOOM!!

An energy blast had slammed into Devil May Cry, setting off an explosion, throwing Vergil onto his face and shattering the whiskey bottle. He got up, seeing the spilt whiskey, before angrily grabbing Yamato and whirled around

"Damn you, I'm gonna kill you for wasting that fine whiskey"

"Wine is so much better," Memnoch replied

He flew down, dodging Yamato and kicking Vergil in the face, before landing and firing an energy blast that threw Vergil inside Devil May Cry, as Trish stepped out and fired twin bolts of lightning. Memnoch teleported out of the way, shooting lasers from his eyes that struck Trish in the chest and knocked her onto her back. Folding his wings, Memnoch headed inside Devil May Cry, as Vergil groaned and went to get up, but was kicked into the kitchen, destroying the table and chairs. Tristan grabbed Vengeance and rushed out of the living room, slashing at Memnoch, who dodged the blade and threw Tristan into the kitchen, before firing an energy blast at Jenny, smashing her through the wall, as Tristan fired a bolt of lightning, striking Memnoch in the chest and throwing him through the air. Memnoch landed on his feet, raising both hands and firing an energy blast that demolished the kitchen, knocking Tristan out, as Vergil and Trish attacked at the same time, but Memnoch kicked Vergil aside, before backhanding Trish, as Jenny came back in. She threw a lighting bolt, but Memnoch teleported out of the way and grabbed her by the throat

"Where is the Spear of Azazel? I know you have it!"

"Go…to…hell," Jenny replied

Memnoch threw her aside into Vergil, before uppercutting Trish, then storming upstairs, kicking open the bedroom, as Lucia threw three daggers, impaling him in the chest. Memnoch groaned, removing the daggers, before firing twin lasers into Lucia when she moved in to attack. Seeing Dante's body lying on the bed, Memnoch grinned, before gathering energy into his body, then unleashing it, causing a shockwave that destroyed Devil May Cry and the surrounding buildings. Having protected himself with an energy shield, Memnoch lowered it, then began searching through the rubble, until he came across the Spear of Azazel. Smiling to himself, he spread his wings and took off, as Vergil rose up out of the rubble, clutching Yamato

"Not on my watch"

Assuming the Beelzebub Armour, Vergil transformed it into the jet fighter and took off after Memnoch, slamming into him and spiralling towards a church. They smashed through the roof and struck the ground hard, bouncing apart, as Vergil landed on his feet, the Beelzebub Armour having been absorbed into his body, while Memnoch landed on the other end of the church. He drew out his sword and gripped it with both hands, as Vergil rested his hand delicately on Yamato's hilt, then flicked his wrist. Yamato swung out of its sheath, a blade of purple energy slicing through the air. Memnoch leapt out of the way, as the energy sliced through several pews and a pillar, while the son of Mundus floated down, landing gently on the altar

"Impressive"

He spread his arms wide and bowed slightly, as Vergil smirked, before teleporting. Memnoch swung his sword, blocking Yamato, as Vergil spun around, landing a kick, then did a flip and slashed again. Memnoch blocked and pushed away, before firing a blast of energy. Vergil teleported out of the way, appearing at the other end of the church, before summoning a ring of phantom spears and firing them, as the sheathed Yamato began to glow. Memnoch jumped from one spear to the next, before flying down at Vergil, his sword raised. At the last minute, Vergil drew Yamato and slashed wide, as a crisscross of purple energy appeared, slicing into Memnoch, throwing him back. He growled, landing on his feet, before bringing his sword up to block Vergil

"This is futile, what you are doing," Memnoch growled

He pushed Vergil away and raised his hand, but Vergil kicked his hand aside, before slashing. Blocking, Memnoch whirled around with a kick to Vergil's chest, before performing a Stinger. Parrying and elbowing, Vergil then lunged forward with a wide slash across Memnoch's stomach. He growled, as Vergil then followed up with a barrage of slashes, as Memnoch blocked, before pushing him away. Vergil spun Yamato around, then rested the tip on the ground, before turning his left side to Memnoch. He lunged, as Vergil blocked and threw him over, but Memnoch landed on his feet, whirling around with a slash, as Vergil pushed off the blade and flipped over, bringing Yamato crashing down. Memnoch teleported out of the way, reappearing near the altar, before firing three laser beams. Vergil smacked aside, as pieces of the church crumbled around him due to the lasers. Memnoch lunged through the air, swinging his sword, but Vergil slashed upwards, then slicing downwards. Memnoch struck the ground once and quickly leapt up into the air, dodging Vergil's slash

Memnoch held out his hand and fired a blast of energy, but Vergil was in the air before him, the beam passing harmlessly beneath him, as Vergil slashed. Blocking, Memnoch defended another slash at his legs, before spinning around and landing a kick on Vergil's stomach. As he flew back, Vergil fired off several phantom spears, but Memnoch knocked them all aside as he too flew back and landed on his feet. As soon as he landed, Vergil sheathed Yamato, before summoning the Blitz Armour, as the claws popped out and began charging up with electricity

Vergil fired twin beams of lightning, but Memnoch leapt out of the way, as Vergil appeared before him and kicked him in the face, followed by a spinning axe kick that knocked Memnoch back to the ground. He landed on his feet and caught Vergil's leg, before throwing him aside into several pews, then fired three lasers. Vergil teleported out of way, appearing behind Memnoch with one gauntlet charged up and swung his fist. However, Memnoch caught his fist and spun around, throwing him across the church. Vergil bounced and flipped, landing on his feet

"Nice skills you have there, Vergil," Memnoch said, "However, your brother is, or should I say, was, a better fighter than you"

"Can I be excused if I'm drunk?" Vergil asked

He held his hands out to the side, as electricity started generating between the claws. Memnoch stroked his chin as he watched the electricity form into orbs. Letting out a small sigh, he held one hand out to the side, near his waist, as the lightning orbs started getting bigger. Vergil grinned behind the facemask, feeling the tremendous power coursing through his body at the moment. He knew that when he unleashed the energy involved, it would cause a huge explosion. Maybe even wipe Memnoch out

"So, you're gonna perform a kamikaze attack?" Memnoch said, "My best wishes"

Ten phantom spears around Vergil, all covered in a barb of lightning, as he fired them all at once. Memnoch teleported to behind the spears, as they slammed into the wall and exploded. At the same time he teleported, Vergil also teleported, driving the lightning orbs towards Memnoch's chest, while Memnoch brought forth his own large orb of energy. They all connected, resulting in a massive explosion that completely levelled the church, bringing it crashing out, as clouds of dust spread out from the ruins, small bolts of lightning flashing through the dust. Once the dust cleared, Vergil was lying on his back, the Blitz Armour gone, while cuts covered his body. Memnoch was standing over him, one hand to his chest, stemming the blood, which stood out brilliantly against his snow-white skin

"I'm impressed, Vergil," Memnoch said, "You've managed to make me bleed. You should be proud of your skills. But know this, it wasn't enough"

"Made you bleed at least," Vergil said

Pain ran throughout his body and he felt paralysed, as Memnoch pointed at him

"I'll leave you with a little reminder of your failure. And also, remember this: if you couldn't beat me, Vergil, you stand no chance against the Valkyries"

Memnoch fired a laser straight into Vergil's right shoulder. He cried out in pain, as Memnoch chuckled, before shooting off into the sky. Vergil gritted his teeth in pain, slowly getting to his feet, before removing the laser from his shoulder and tossing it aside, as his body worked to repair the injuries

"It's not over, Memnoch. Not yet"

†††††††††††


	13. Valkyrie Island

†††††††††††

"I hate this when this happens!" Trish cried, standing before the rubble that was Devil May Cry, "Every time a big bad shows up, my home gets destroyed!"

"Don't worry, Mom, at least we can rebuild it," Jenny said

"No, I'm tired of rebuilding it. We'll just go to Vergil's place until we can find one of our own. Thank God the twins were at Nero's for the day"

At that moment, Tristan came out of the rubble, carrying his father's body, with Lucia trailing close by. Trish flung a hand to her mouth, trying her best to hold back the tears as she saw the state of her husband's body

"We have to do something with him, Mom," Tristan said, "We gotta bury him"

"Fine then," Trish replied, "Lucia, will you accompany me to the cemetery?"

"I will," Lucia said

"What about us?" Jenny asked, "We wanna be there for the funeral"

"No, you and Tristan can go to your uncle's. I want to do this"

Trish took Dante's body from her son, before leaving with Lucia, as Jenny joined her twin brother, watching them go

"Come on, might as well do what Mom says," Tristan said, "But first, we've gotta get all the weapons out of there"

Jenny nodded and joined her brother in searching through the rubble for the weapons. Once they had found them all, they headed off to their uncle's house, arriving there just as Vergil showed up. He looked haggard, as if he had just been in a fight while drunk and ended up losing the fight: which was true

"What are you guys doing here?" Vergil asked

"Mom sent us over here for the time being," Jenny replied, "She's gone off with Lucia to bury Dad"

"What? Why aren't we there?"

"She doesn't want us there. Don't ask me why"

"Right, well, gear up, we're heading out. All of us"

"Where to?" Tristan asked

"We're going to that island that rose up," Vergil replied, "That's where Memnoch is. That is where he'll bring back the Valkyries. So we've got to stop him"

"Okay, Uncle Vergil, I think you've had a bit too much to drink," Jenny said

"Don't worry, the demon in me is flushing it out. I'll be fine in about half an hour. Come on, we've got to get ready now"

Within half an hour, all the fighters in the Sparda family were armed and ready, all in their respective vehicles. Vergil was driving his Impala, Nero had a Ferrari, while Celeste was driving her hotrod. Jenny and Lili were on their Ducatti motorcycles, while Tristan was driving a Camaro, followed by Michael and Cameron in an SUV. They were driving out towards the island, using the bridge that had rose up between the island and Fortuna. Halfway across, something slammed into the bridge, causing it to vibrate. Vergil hit the brakes and parked the car, before getting out

"You guys keep going"

Standing on the edge of the bridge, Vergil assumed the Beelzebub Armour, before leaping off and transforming it into a jet fighter, taking off just as a massive Jokatgulm snapped her jaws at him. Firing his thrusters, Vergil took off, before spinning around and firing two missiles at the Jokatgulm. She roared, flailing her tentacles, as Vergil absorbed the jet fighter into his body, flipping over and slashing with Yamato. The Jokatgulm screeched as she fell backwards, as Vergil covered Yamato in purple and black energy, then impaled the Jokatgulm in the throat. Her tentacles flapped around, trying to get to him, but Vergil ducked under the tentacles, before ripping Yamato out, covered in blue blood, then kicked off, before performing the Judgement Cut in mid-air. The Jokatgulm screeched as she fell beneath the surface of the ocean and Vergil quickly summoned the jet fighter, before flying back to the castle, crashing through a window and landing on his feet, seeing Memnoch and Wesker surrounded by the Sparda family

"Vergil. So nice of you to join us," Memnoch said, "How's the hangover?"

He was dressed again in his black armour, as Vergil glared at him

"Perfectly fine, thank you. Don't we have some business to attend to?"

"Oh, you mean the summoning of the Valkyries?"

Memnoch summoned the Spear of Azazel and held it up, before handing it to Wesker

"There you go, Albert. Now, go and summon the Valkyries"

Wesker was gone in a blink of an eye, as Memnoch turned back to everyone

"You killed my father," Jenny said, "And for that, you must die"

"It was in the heat of the battle," Memnoch said, "So, shall we begin?"

"You guys take Memnoch," Vergil said, "I'll take Wesker"

He sniffed out Wesker's scent, before following after him, as Nero was the first to attack with his Devil Bringer, but Memnoch teleported out of the way, before blocking Jenny and throwing her aside, then parrying Tristan and kicking Celeste. Vergil entered a room, before teleporting up the staircase and entering another room. This one was empty except for the large gate built into the centre. Wesker was standing before it, raising the Spear of Azazel, but Vergil crossed the room in a flash, grabbing Wesker's wrist and forcing the Spear away from the gate. Wesker delivered a palm strike to Vergil's chest, slamming him against the wall, as Vergil fired several phantom spears. Wesker teleported to dodge them, as Vergil teleported and kicked him in the face, spinning around and delivering another kick, slamming Wesker against the wall and causing him to drop the Spear

"Very well then. Before I summon the Valkyries, I shall kill you," Wesker growled

"Hit me with your best shot," Vergil smirked

Meanwhile, Memnoch fired an energy blast at Celeste, before dodging Yitoma and striking Lili with lasers. Large icicles appeared, as Maverick burst out of them and fired an ice beam at Cameron, covering him in a block of ice, then creating twin ice swords on his forearms and blocking Tristan's slash, before smacking the sword aside and delivering a spin kick to his ribs. Memnoch slashed at Celeste, before teleporting away from the Diablo Bringer and firing an energy blast at Nero. He leapt over the blast, as Michael shattered the prison containing his brother, who then used his telekinesis to fire the icicles at Memnoch. He blocked each icicle, before parrying Jenny's Stinger and kicking her in the stomach. Lili teleported close and slashed wide, as Memnoch stepped on Yitoma, before pushing off and spreading his cape. Nero leapt into the air, slashing with a revved-up Gold Queen, the blow smashing Memnoch into the ground. He groaned before getting up and getting struck by a Stinger from Tristan, the move smashing him out of the window. Spreading his cape, Memnoch blocked Tristan's slash when he leapt out and struck him with an energy blast, before firing a large energy blast that took out Jenny and Lili, as Maverick attacked Celeste, while firing icicles at Nero

"Okay, now I'm really pissed off," Memnoch growled

†††††††††††

"Okay, this is good enough," Trish said

She laid Dante's body down on the stone table, as Lucia closed the door to the small, stone mausoleum, before joining Trish beside the table

"Hopefully we won't get disturbed here," she said

Green pentagrams appeared around Lucia's hands, as she held them above Dante's body, before closing her eyes and starting a chant, reaching deep inside herself to draw up the power of the Goddess

"Question," Trish said, "What happens to all the nuclear energy you siphon out?"

"I can hold it within my own body"

"But if it killed Dante, won't it kill you? And even though you've got the powers of the Goddess, you're nowhere as strong as she was"

"You've got a point," Lucia said, "We need something to put the energy into"

"You're right. I might know someone who could help us out"

†††††††††††

Wesker punched Vergil in the jaw, following up with an open-palm uppercut, knocking Vergil back, before charging and ramming his shoulder into Vergil's chest, knocking him down. Vergil rolled back onto his feet, catching Wesker's fist and pulled him off balance, before delivering two kicks to his stomach. Wesker stepped forward and spun around, twisting his own arm while grabbing Vergil by the throat. The half-demon grabbed Wesker's wrist and struck his elbow, then Devil Triggered, blasting Wesker across the room. The former captain got to his feet, before dashing at Vergil at blinding speeds, only to get struck down by Yamato. Blood splattered the ground, as Vergil kicked Wesker in the stomach, lifting him up into the air, then slashed, creating an 'X' out of energy and slamming Wesker against the wall with the 'X' slicing into him. Wesker fell onto his hands and knees, lacerations covering his body and his blood pooling on the floor

"Give it up, Wesker," Vergil said, "You're gonna die tonight"

Wesker smiled, before leaping up from the ground, grabbing the Spear of Azazel, then teleporting to the gate, as Vergil teleported beside him, swinging Yamato. Wesker ducked and swept Vergil's legs out from underneath him, taking him down, before stabbing the Spear into the lock, as it started glowing

"Oh, I don't think so," Wesker smirked

†††††††††††


	14. Rise of the Valkyries

†††††††††††

Vergil stabbed Wesker through the back, ripping right through his chest. Wesker groaned in pain, blood dribbling from his lips, as Vergil tossed him aside, before grabbing the Spear and trying to pull it out, however, the Spear wouldn't budge. Gripping it with both hands, Vergil tried to yank the Spear out, to no avail, as the glow started getting brighter. Wesker chuckled weakly as he watched

"They're coming. And you can't stop them"

Vergil fired a phantom spear into Wesker's chest, before trying again. This time, the Spear came free, however, the gate swung open, throwing Vergil onto his back, as the glow covered the entire room. Vergil, now in his human form, struggled to his feet, as black jets of mist flew out of the gate, swarming out in the room, before blasting a hole in the ceiling and flying up through it. Vergil lost count of how many were released when the gate closed and he was able to see again. Leaping up through the hole, he came out onto the top of the castle, looking towards Fortuna and seeing the Valkyries flying above the island

"Oh, we're screwed"

Racing down the stair, Vergil arrived back in the room to find his family still battling against Memnoch, who was now aided by Maverick. Together, the pair were holding their own against the Sparda family, firing icicles, energy blasts and lasers, as the Sparda family tried their best to bring them down. Summoning ten phantom spears, Vergil fired them at Maverick, impaling him, before teleporting to Memnoch and slicing upwards, throwing him into the air, then slashing downwards, bringing him down, before shooting several phantom spears into him to keep him down

"We've gotta go now," Vergil said

"Why, what's going on?" Nero asked

Vergil blocked Maverick and kicked him in the stomach, before slashing wide

"The Valkyries have been released. We have to stop them from getting to Mephisto"

Moving forward at blinding speeds, Vergil slashed Memnoch across the waist, before doing the same again, then kicking him in the chest, throwing him back, as Nero and the others took off. Vergil followed after them, firing phantom spears to keep Memnoch and Maverick at bay, then teleported to his Impala and got in

"So it begins"

†††††††††††

The now-aged Morrison opened the door after the third knock, blinking slowly when he saw Trish and Lucia standing before him. Although he had retired from demon fighting many years ago, Morrison still aided Dante whenever he could

"Trish, it's been a long time. I'm sorry to hear about Dante's passing," Morrison said, "He was a great man at times. I already miss the guy"

"I know," Trish said, forcing a smile, "Same here"

"So, what can I do for you?"

"I need something to contain highly radioactive material"

"What creature are you going after? A Sharkspark?"

"No. do you have something or not?"

Morrison sighed and headed out to his backyard, as Trish and Lucia followed him into the shed and past Dante's boat. Trish let out a sad sigh as she looked up Dante's boat, thinking how he would never drive it again. Then she steeled her mind, reminding herself that she was going to bring Dante back, no matter what

"This should do the trick," Morrison said, "Trish, could you help me here? I'm not as young as I used to be"

Trish helped him pulled out a large container that was half the size of her. She could feel the energy pulsating across the surface of the container and ran her hand gently above it, feeling the energy crackling beneath her palm

"Whoa, that is impressive, Morrison," Trish said, "How'd you get it?"

"Managed to barter it off a demon about five years ago. Actually, it was a game of Texas Hold 'Em. Very close game, that one. But this one would be able to hold a Sharkspark or a lot of nuclear energy. Better be careful with it, they're very rare"

"Thank you, Morrison," Lucia said, "It's perfect"

Trish lifted the container up with ease and carried it out to the car, before realizing she wouldn't be able to fit inside the vehicle

"I'm gonna have to fly over. I'll see you there"

Lucia nodded and got into the car, before driving off, as Trish covered herself in golden energy and shot off into the sky

†††††††††††

The cars raced back into Fortuna, as the Valkyries circled overhead, before creating seven rings, all spinning around in the opposite direction to each other. The Valkyries were humanoid, with jet black skin, long claws and talons, vast feathered wings, diamond blue eyes and carried either a light blue sword, spear or axe, as Vergil parked the Impala and got out, Nero, Celeste and Lili soon joining him

"What's going on?" Lili asked

"I don't know, but I don't think we should stand around and find out," Vergil said

Creating ten phantom spears, Vergil fired them at the Valkyries, as Nero climbed his way to the nearest building, as a Valkyrie saw him and hissed, before flying down at him. Nero struck with his Devil Bringer, grabbing the Valkyrie by the throat and slamming it into the ground, as another flew at him, slashing its sword. Nero blocked, before grabbing the Valkyrie and swinging it around his head, then throwing it aside. Three Valkyries flew at Vergil, as he blocked their blows, before spinning around and trapping the first two Valkyries' swords under his arms. Throwing them aside, Vergil shot forward with blinding speed, slicing the third Valkyrie in half

"So, how are we gonna deal with them?" Celeste asked

Vergil created an energy 'X' and fired it at Nero. In response, he grabbed it with the Diablo Bringer, coating the 'X' in flames, then hurling it at the lowest circles of Valkyries. It sliced into them, creating a small explosion and sending their severed body parts burning towards the ground. However, more Valkyries simply filled the void and continued on with their work

"Well, that kinda worked," Nero said, "What now?"

"Need to really get their attention," Vergil said, "Like this"

He Devil Triggered, before spreading his wings and flying up towards the circles. Several Valkyries saw him and flew towards him, brandishing their weapons, but Vergil dodged or teleported amongst them, slashing out with Yamato and slicing through the Valkyries, before reaching the circles and hovering in mid-air as he performed his Judgement Cut technique. It sliced through about five Valkyries, bringing them down, but their positions were quickly filled, as more Valkyries flew towards Vergil and he continued fighting amongst them. The seven circles of Valkyries starting picking up speed, moving faster and faster until they were just blurs

"Uh-oh, that's not looking good," Lili said

the wind was starting to kick up, getting stronger by the second, throwing vehicles through the air and tearing buildings apart piece by piece

"Okay, guys, we gotta get out of here," Celeste called, "Nero, get down from there!"

Her twin brother soon landed before her, narrowly avoiding a VW van, as cracks appeared in the ground. Vergil soon landed amongst the group, as they all split up, trying to find shelter from the flying debris, while staying in sight of the Valkyries, as the whole island starting shaking. Spikes appeared out of the cracks, followed by towers, as a massive tower rose up in the centre of Fortuna

"Oh, not again," Vergil said, "It's Mephistopheles' tower!"

"No duh!" Celeste shot back

Once the tower had risen to its full height, the Valkyries dived towards, all disappearing within the tower, as the wind quickly died down. Vergil stepped out from a newly created alley and looked around at the destruction

"Come on, we gotta stop them from raising Mephisto"

"Too bad the orbs needed to resurrect him are already there," Nero said

"Yeah, no time to worry about that," Tristan said, "Let's get going"

Together, the family headed off towards the tower, hoping to stop the Valkyries from raising Mephistopheles. But as he looked around at his family and the destruction causing by the rising tower, Vergil couldn't help the gnawing feeling at the back of their mind that this was going to be one fight they wouldn't win

†††††††††††

"Whoa, that wasn't good," Lucia said, "What was that?"

Trish stepped outside the mausoleum and saw the tower of Mephistopheles in the distance. Her jaw dropped in surprise and she headed back inside

"Mephisto's tower has been raised again," she said

Lucia paled as she heard this news, but she quickly calmed her nerves

"You're needed there to prevent Mephisto from rising"

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine here. Go, now"

Trish nodded and headed off, as Lucia returned to her work, slowly siphoning the nuclear energy out of Dante's body

†††††††††††


	15. Mephistopheles Rising

†††††††††††

A Valkyrie came crashing down after being impaled by several phantom spears, as Vergil led the way down to the basement, where Lucia had placed the orbs two years earlier in her attempt to resurrect Mephistopheles. Already, there were about twenty Valkyries tearing up the lock that the orbs resided in

"Take them out," Vergil said, "Kill them all"

He shot forward, slicing a Valkyrie in half, as several Valkyries turned around, all screeching, before brandishing weapons and leaping into battle, as the rest of the Valkyries continued their work, tearing away at the gate

"Boy, this is going to be fun," Tristan said

He swung Vengeance, decapitating a Valkyrie, then performed a Stinger, taking out another Valkyrie, as Celeste swung Freyja, firing an energy blast that obliterated a Valkyrie, as a second grabbed her by the shoulders and lifted her into the air. She flipped her body upwards, kicking the Valkyrie in the jaw, before landing on her feet and blocking another Valkyrie, then kicking it back. Lili blocked a Valkyrie and spun around, ducking under a sword and disembowelling a second Valkyrie, as Jenny did a High Rise, followed up by the Overdrive, blasting a Valkyrie into a second Valkyrie. At that moment, Memnoch appeared, firing an energy blast into Cameron, knocking him into his brother and taking them both down

"You will not prevent the rise of my master," Memnoch growled

"We'll see about that," Vergil said

A whirlwind of ice appeared, as Maverick materialised in the icicles, before firing a beam of ice at Nero. He blocked it with the Diablo Bringer, before forcing it back towards the Frost demon. He leapt out of the way, as the blast froze a Valkyrie in a block of ice. Nero then lunged at Maverick, swinging the Gold Queen, but Maverick quickly formed a sword and blocked the move, as Memnoch drew his sword and lunged at Vergil, crossing blades

The Valkyries kept ripping up the gate, as Celeste swung Freyja, firing a wave of energy that took out three Valkyries, but they were quickly replaced, as beams of light started emitting from the cracks. Grabbing a Valkyrie with the Diablo Bringer, Nero spun around in a circle like he was doing a hammer toss and released the Valkyrie, taking several others, before striking another Valkyrie with a revved-up Gold Queen. Gold lightning suddenly appeared, as Trish appeared, blasting two Valkyries apart with golden blasts of lightning, then drawing the Thunder Blade and impaling another Valkyrie, before decapitating another and firing another blast of lightning

"Trish, how nice of you to show up," Vergil said, killing a Valkyrie, "How did the funeral go?"

"It went alright," Trish replied, electrocuting a Valkyrie

The Valkyries finished their shredding of the gate, as a huge beam of light rose up from the destroyed gate, blasting through the roof and reaching high into the clouds

"He's here," Memnoch laughed, "My master is here"

He was so busy staring at the beam of light, that he didn't notice Vergil behind him until it was too late, when Vergil rammed Yamato through his back and out of his chest. Memnoch gasped, as Vergil then twisted the sword, before ripping it out

"He won't be for long," Vergil said coldly, kicking Memnoch to the ground

The Valkyries had all disappeared, along with Maverick, as everyone stood before the beam of light. Black lightning bolts began flaring inside the beam. Something large and black briefly appeared, before shooting up into the air. Vergil felt a sense of pure evil from that object and knew what he had just seen. Leaving Memnoch on the ground, he hurried up the stairs winding their way to the rooftop and reaching it, seeing Valkyries flying in the air around the tower, as everyone else joined him. A figure was standing on the edge of the roof, overlooking Fortuna. He was about seven feet tall, with dark red skin and jet-black hair that spiked up backwards. His forearms were scaly and ended in two fingers and thumb, all possessing sharp claws. His pointed tail swung lazily from side to side, while his large, bat-like wings were folded against his back. He wore an armoured chest plate and black pants ending in boots

"So, you are the descendants of Athorias?" Mephistopheles said, "And let me guess, like your ancestor, you wish to do away with me?"

He exuded an air of calm confidence as he turned around to face them

"You could say something like that," Vergil said

Purple energy covered Yamato's blade, as Vergil flicked it at Mephistopheles. He dodged the slash, as Vergil moved with blinding speed, slashing with Yamato. However, Mephistopheles caught the blade, before flicking Vergil over his head. Celeste and Nero were the next to move, coming in from both sides and attacking at the same time. Mephistopheles dodged Freyja, before parrying the Gold Queen with his palm, then punching Nero in the face, while kicking Celeste in the stomach, then throwing them back with fireballs. Trish unleashed a blast of lightning, as Jenny and Tristan did the same thing, but Mephistopheles blocked with a shield of dark energy, before blasting the trio back with telekinesis. At that moment, Memnoch appeared, shooting a blast of energy at Lili, as she blocked with Yitoma. Michael and Cameron attacked at the same time, only for Mephistopheles to knock them aside with ease

"Pathetic," Mephistopheles sneered, "You stand no chance against me"

Vergil got to his feet, before summoning Hellebore and lunging, flames surrounding him as he slashed at Mephistopheles. The pure demon was blocking and parrying with his hands, as Vergil slashed with Yamato, before spinning around with Hellebore, then swinging both swords overhead. Mephistopheles caught both blades, before kicking Vergil in the stomach, sliding him along the ground. Memnoch lunged at Nero, getting punched back by the Light Bringer, as Nero then threw a Spear. Memnoch smacked it out of mid-air, before ducking under Yitoma and spinning around with sword in hand, but Lili blocked and kicked him in the knee, before slashing him across the chest. Memnoch staggered back, catching Lili in the chest with an energy blast, as Mephistopheles threw Tristan into Jenny, then caught Trish by the throat, before punching her in the stomach, sliding her backwards

"You are quite annoying," Mephistopheles said, "Like little flies that need swatting. And you are slowing me down"

Grabbing Nero by the face, Mephistopheles slammed him into the ground, before kicking him, then striking down Vergil, as Memnoch blocked Celeste and threw her aside. She drew the Dragon Blades and unleashed a blast of wind, but Memnoch spread his cape, bringing himself back down to the ground, as Mephistopheles began gathering dark energy into his body. Dodging Rebellion and punching Jenny, he then backhanded Lili, before catching Tristan with a fireball. Vergil and Trish came in at the same time, but Mephistopheles released all his gathered energy, creating a massive shockwave that threw everyone off the tower's roof, save for himself and Memnoch. They watched as the Sparda family fell to the ground below

"Master, it is good that you're here once again," Memnoch said, kneeling before the First demon, "The Legendary Dark Knight, Dante, is dead, slain by my hand. Only he had a chance of stopping you. But now, with him gone, you-"

"Save me the grovelling speech, Memnoch," Mephistopheles said in a bored voice, "I need time to raise Ragnorak. And I know the perfect thing"

Mephistopheles raised his hands to the sky, as dark energy swirled in his palms. The sky turned orange and black, as huge spikes of rock rose up in the streets. Cracks started appearing, bringing down buildings, as rivers of lava started flowing. Portals opened up, unleashing a wide variety of demons, as purple lightning flashed

"Oh man, this isn't looking good," Lili said

"I think this is the worst it has ever been," Celeste said, "How on earth are we going to defeat Mephisto?"

"Don't think we're on Earth anymore," Trish said, "This is more like Hell"

"First off, we have to imprison the Valkyries away," Vergil said, watching them soar around the tower, "Then we take down Mephisto"

"It's not gonna be easy," Nero said, "But we've gotta try"

Meanwhile, Mephistopheles and Memnoch had returned to the small island, entering the room where the Valkyries had been released. Wesker's pale body was lying against the wall, his blood pooled around him. Mephistopheles knelt before him, hearing his shallowed, ragged breaths and placed a hand on his chest

"I hear you are serving me, Albert Wesker, in return for Uroboros. I always reward my faithful servants and I believe I can help you with your project"

Channelling energy into his hand, Mephistopheles then forced it into Wesker's body, healing his wounds and rejuvenating him. Wesker shuddered, inhaling deep breaths, before slowly getting to his feet and flexing his fingers, then looked at Mephistopheles, before bowing before him

"I thank you, Lord of Demons and I will continue my servitude to you"

"Good. Now, stand up before me like the man you are, Wesker"

Wesker straightened, as Mephistopheles slammed his hand into his chest. Wesker hit the wall, before falling over, groaning as he held a hand to his chest, before starting to convulse, as Mephistopheles smirked

"There you go. I've just given you your Uroboros project"

Wesker gritted his teeth, his sunglasses falling off as his body started to mutate

†††††††††††

Lucia frowned and stopped her work, looking around, as the whole world seemed to change. The atmosphere felt heavier and Lucia knew what was going on. Mephistopheles had risen and he had turned the world into Hell. Knowing that she didn't have long before Mephistopheles started destroying the world, Lucia returned to her work. The nuclear holding tank was about half full and she still had a lot of nuclear energy to remove from Dante's body before she could start the real work

†††††††††††


	16. Breathe Into Me

†††††††††††

Mephisto stood atop his tower, surveying Fortuna Island. In the five hours since his arrival, he had turned the entire island into a hellish wasteland filled with demons. The ground was cracked and uneven, while dead trees were entwined around the buildings that hadn't fallen in the transformation. Mephisto's Valkyrie army were flying over the city, acting as violent guards, as Memnoch and Wesker arrived. The latter had now mutated into the form he possessed during his final battle with Chris Redfield in an African volcano twenty-five years ago

"Everything is going to plan, master," Memnoch said, "Ragnorak is only moments away from being used"

"Good," Mephisto replied, "I cannot wait to wipe this pathetic human species from the face of this earth and restore it for the demons"

"What are we going to do about Sparda's brood?" Wesker asked

"They will attempt to fight me, but they will fall in battle. They are no match for me"

Black energy covered Mephisto's hand, as he raised it to the sky, before shooting an energy bolt, creating a portal as a Leviathan flew out and began patrolling the tower. With a few more portals, he had summoned Abyss Goatlings and Hell Barons to guard the bottom of the tower, as well as a huge Orangguerra with massive fists

"Let's see them get through that," Mephisto smirked

"They'll have no problem with that," Memnoch said

"And afterwards, do you think they'll have the strength to fight me?"

Memnoch didn't reply, as Mephisto smiled and turned back to his utopia

"So it begins"

†††††††††††

"So, what are we going to do?" Trish asked, "We've been holed up here since Mephisto arrived and if we don't think up a plan soon-"

"I know," Vergil said, cutting her off, "I know"

He was sitting at his desk, tossing a Megaman squeeze-ball between his hands, whilst deep in thought, while Trish paced before him. Everyone else were in the living room, all worried about the upcoming apocalypse

"Well, now that Mephisto is here, what is he going to do?" Trish asked

"If I remember correctly, he will summon Ragnorak," Vergil replied, "It's a tool that Mephisto will use to disrupt the tectonic plates, sending shockwaves throughout the entire planet, causing earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions, killing millions"

"Then we've got to stop him"

"I know, Trish, but we don't have the firepower"

"Why, because Dante is dead? Vergil, if Dante was alive right now, what do you think he would do?" Trish asked, "He wouldn't care if he's got the power or not. He would cowboy his way out there and give it all that he's got"

Vergil crushed the squeeze ball in his hand, before throwing it against the wall. Sighing, he got to his feet and put his coat on, before grabbing Yamato, then looking up at his sister-in-law

"You're right. Just because we don't have Dante doesn't mean we can't win"

"Now that's the spirit. Come on, let's get everyone"

Vergil and Trish left the office, as everyone looked at them

"We're going to stop Mephisto," Vergil said, "We're gonna bury him and his army. And I will not stop until he is dead. Who's with me?"

"Well, bro, we all are," Nero said, "Behind you all the way. What's the plan?"

"First, we get all the humans off this island. I don't want any innocents in the crossfire. Trish, you and Jenny will secure the harbour. The rest of us will herd the humans towards you and you get them on a boat to safety"

Vergil sighed and looked around at his extended family. This was truly the biggest fight of their lives and they had already lost a member of their family. Vergil hoped he wouldn't lose any more, but he knew that wouldn't be guaranteed"

"Alright then, let's rock"

†††††††††††

"Everyone follow me," Tristan called

After getting his orders, Tristan had headed out and managed to round up a group of humans, before leading them towards the harbour where his mother and sister were waiting to ship them all off. Looking overhead to make sure a Valkyrie didn't see him, Tristan turned a corner, ramming Vengeance straight through an Imp's chest, then removing his sword and decapitating a second Imp. Checking that the area was clear, Tristan continued leading the band of terrified humans to the harbour

"Why does this always happen?" asked a woman, "Demons always terrorising us?"

"I guess we're just a little unlucky," Tristan replied, "Not far now"

At that moment, a demon suddenly appeared and sent the humans sprawling, before striking Tristan across the face with a whip-like appendage coming out of its arm. Tristan touched his bloodied cheek, before moving in for the attack, as the demon whipped its other arm around, striking Tristan on the jaw and knocking him on his back. The demon was taller than Tristan, with light peach skin and an elongated snout. Its eyes were small and beady, while its hands and toes ended in claws. A long, whip-like appendage grew out of the demon's forearms, as it whipped these around slowly, while the humans and Tristan got to their feet

"Head for the harbour," Tristan called, "I'll handle this"

The humans fled, as Tristan glared at the grinning demon

"Got a name?"

"Whiplash"

"Whiplash. Okay then"

Tristan lunged with a Stinger, but Whiplash dodged and grabbed his wrist, knocking Vengeance away, before whipping him across the face. Blood dripped from the wound, as Tristan whirled around with a kick, but Whiplash stepped back, before striking him again, then whipping his back twice. Tristan groaned in pain, as Whiplash knocked him to the ground, then began whipping him, drawing blood. Rolling away, Tristan got to his feet, before Devil Triggering and dodging both whips, then moving in and kneeing Whiplash in the stomach, followed by an uppercut. Whiplash growled and snapped his whips, as Tristan dodged and struck him with a lightning bolt, before moving in swift, punching Whiplash across the jaw, then grabbed him by the throat and leapt into the air, kicking the demon back to the ground. As Whiplash went to get up, Tristan landed and grabbed his right arm, then pulled it out of its socket. Whiplash screamed in pain, as Tristan kicked him in the face, bringing him up onto his feet. Whiplash growled, popping his arm back into place, then lashed out with his whips, as Tristan ducked under, moving behind him, then grabbed both arms and kicked Whiplash in the back with all his might, tearing both arms off. Whiplash fell to his knees, blood pumping from both stumps, as Tristan retrieved Vengeance and decapitated the demon, then resumed his human form

†††††††††††

Lucia stepped back and wiped the sweat away from her brow. She had just finished siphoning all the nuclear energy out of Dante's body, leaving the nuclear tank nearly full. Now, she was faced with the task of bringing him back to life, however, she knew she didn't have the power to do that. She needed a lot more power in order to bring Dante back, yet she didn't know how she was going to find that. Looking around, Lucia spied Excalibur lying near the door where Trish had left it. Knowing that it was a very powerful weapon, having sealed Mephisto away, Lucia picked the massive sword up, feeling the power of the sword wash over her. Smiling to herself, she headed back to Dante's body and closed her eyes, breathing deeply several times, before opening her eyes and starting the spell

†††††††††††

Dante was bored. He had been bored ever since he got here. Reclining back on the fluffy white clouds, he was spinning his halo around his index finger, watching as his mother and father sat some distance away together, talking in hush tones, while Graxtius was off to the side, hands behind his back as he stared at the white space

"_God, is this what's it gonna be like for eternity?"_

Dante sighed and spun his halo around one more time, before seizing up in pain. His pained cries brought Sparda's and Eva's attention to him, as he fell on all fours, gritting his teeth in pain, as blue lightning bolts appeared around his body

"What's going on here?" Graxtius asked, joining them

"I have no idea, Dad," Sparda replied

"Dante, what's happening, dear?" Eva asked, "Son, speak to me"

"I don't know, Mom," Dante groaned

His body started fading in and out, as another bolt of lighting appeared around his body. Dante reared up, crying out in pain, as his halo disappeared

"He's getting pulled back," Graxtius said, "Somebody's bringing him back"

Dante cried out in pain and suddenly disappeared

†††††††††††

Lucia rammed Excalibur into the injury that Memnoch had created, as bolts of lightning raced across Dante's body. He convulsed, as his eyes shot open and he sat up suddenly, breathing in deep gasps of air, as Lucia removed Excalibur

"Welcome back, Dante," she said

†††††††††††


	17. I'm Alive

†††††††††††

"Go to the harbour," Vergil shouted, "Run now!"

Humans were crying out in fear as they ran towards the harbour. A Hell Baron roared and threw an energy blast, killing ten people, as Vergil teleported to the Baron, swinging Yamato and slashing it across the ribs. The Hell Baron roared and backhanded Vergil, sliding him along the road. He growled, getting to his feet, before firing a wave of energy from Yamato, slicing into the Hell Baron. It returned fire, but Vergil leapt out of the way, shooting phantom spears, before landing with the Phantom Cannon in hand. He pulled the trigger, blasting a hole in the Hell Baron, before absorbing the Cannon and spinning around, drawing Yamato wide and sending an arc of energy slicing through a group of majinis

Trish blasted several Imps with lightning, as a Valkyrie flew down, baring its sword. She dodged and slashed with the Thunder Blade, bringing the Valkyrie down, as an Abyss Goatling fired a blast of energy. Trish flew into the air, shooting a bolt of lightning at the Goatling and bringing it down, as a Fetish leapt at her. She threw the Thunder Blade, impaling the Fetish through the head, then landed and retrieved her sword, before whirling around and disembowelling a Scarecrow. Jenny hooked ten Pride demons with Kraken and flung them around the place, then struck a Mega Scarecrow with a Stinger blow, sending the large bladed demon flying back onto a Gbusmsira, crushing it beneath the Mega Scarecrow. A Kyklops leapt through the air at Jenny, as she rolled out of the way and struck with lightning bolts, before doing the Drive move, slicing the Kyklops' legs off, before moving in to finish it off

"They're starting to become a problem," Memnoch said, watching them, "Before too long, they'll be here, disrupting our plans"

"Stop being such a cry-baby," Mephisto hissed, "Wesker, take them out"

"Very well," Wesker replied

He leapt off the tower edge, as Nero grabbed an Assault with the Devil Bringer, before slamming it into the ground around him, then throwing the demon into a group of Pyromancers, then did an Ex-Streak on several Hell Gluttony demons, as a Hell Vanguard appeared, screeching and waving its scythe around. Nero blocked, before punching the demon back, then shooting with a charged-up Blue Rose, the fiery shot striking the Vanguard in the head and knocking it back, allowing Nero to grab it with his Light Bringer and uppercut it, then he leapt up and delivered a massive fist to the Vanguard's face, slamming it into the ground, before landing on the Vanguard and delivering a bullet to the back of its head, turning it to dust

"Vergil!" Wesker cried, "Come here!"

Vergil looked up from pummelling an Arachne with Yamato, seeing the mutated Wesker. Flicking the Arachne blood off his katana, Vergil then sheathed the weapon, before walking towards Wesker, then stopping within three metres of each other

"I believe I owe you from our last fight," Wesker said, his red eyes flashing

"Hmph. Show me what you've got," Vergil sneered

Wesker snarled and slammed his left fist into the ground, as his tendril-like fingers rose up around Vergil, trying to ensnare him, but Vergil leapt up, drawing Yamato and slashing wide, severing Wesker's tendrils. He snarled in pain, withdrawing his hand from the ground, then lunging at Vergil, swinging his right arm, which had large pieces of sharp metal woven throughout the flesh. Vergil dodged the arm and sliced, but Wesker's skin was stronger on his arms than his fingers and the wound simply healed quickly, as Wesker struck Vergil with his arm, sending him flying

Celeste summoned her glaives and spun around, taking down two Agonofinis, then threw her glaives through the chests of two Brontmancers, turning them inside out, as Lili sliced an Enigma in half, before shooting several phantom swords at an Abyss, as a Dullahan slashed at her. Blocking the blow, Lili leapt over the Dullahan, bringing Yitoma down through the jewel on the Dullahan's back, shattering it and killing the Dullahan. The Damned Chess Pieces appeared, firing laser beams and leaping all over the place, as Trish caught Celeste's eye and charged up lightning in her hands, before firing twin bolts at Celeste. She caught the bolts with the glaives, absorbing the lightning into the weapons, before hurling them at the Chess Pieces, arcs of lightning flying from the glaives, as they struck the King and Queen, letting loose with an explosion and reducing the Chess Pieces to tiny pieces of stone

"Hmm, impressive," Mephisto said, watching the battle, "Valkyries, attack!"

The Valkyries flew down, forming into ranks, creating ten squads of twenty Valkyries each, their blue weapons flashing. Vergil sliced Wesker across the stomach, before impaling him with several phantom spears, pushing him away, then turning towards the army of the Valkyries, a groan leaving his throat

"As if we don't have enough problems"

†††††††††††

"Man, it feels good to be alive," Dante said, clenching and unclenching his hands

"A lot has happened since you died," Lucia said, "Mephistopheles has risen"

"Mephistopheles, huh? Sounds like a challenge"

"He's turned the world into a hellish paradise for demons. He also has the might of his Valkyrie army behind him. There's no stopping him"

"Really? Hasn't stopped me before"

Dante picked up Excalibur and sheathed it, before turning to Lucia. She joined him outside the mausoleum, looking at the hellish sky, as lightning flashed and Puia flew overhead. A small smile came to Dante's face and he took in a deep breath

"Man, it feels so exciting. Shall we crash the party?"

"I'll meet you there"

Lucia Devil Triggered and spread her wings, before flying away, as Dante shrugged and made his way out of the cemetery, reaching the car park and letting out a laugh when he saw his prized deep red Lamborghini Murchielago waiting for him

"Oh, Trish, babe, I love you so"

Giddily getting into the car, Dante smiled when he turned the engine on, feeling it roar and purr, before throwing it into gear and spinning the wheels, racing off

†††††††††††

The spear charged up with lightning from Trish, it soared through the air, hurled by Celeste, impaling a Valkyrie in the chest and exploding, killing several Valkyries, as Vergil fired a lava ball at Nero, who caught it with the Dark Bringer, creating dark energy spikes all over the ball, before throwing it at the Valkyries. It exploded in a shower of lava and spikes, but the fallen Valkyries were quickly replaced, as the army marched forward. Drawing the Spear of Azazel, Mephisto flew down, landing in front of the army and grinning as he lead them towards the Sparda family. James raised his hands, creating geysers of flames to appear out of the ground near the Valkyries, but Mephisto slashed the air, shooting a crystal beam that struck James in the shoulder

"If you surrender now, I promise you a quick death," Mephisto said

"Yeah, right," Vergil said

He created energy in the form of an 'X', as Nero drove it forward with his Diablo Bringer. An explosion went off, but Mephisto and the Valkyries marched on forward, as several Sylverwulfs appeared, flying through the air, whilst howling, baring their fangs, before descending to attack. Vunemuses appeared, along with Bianco Angelos. Creating ten phantom spears, Vergil placed them around Nero, as he gathered them up with his Light Bringer, before throwing them with the Light Spear, impaling several Bianco Angelos, as Mephisto gathered black energy into his hand, before firing off several bolts, destroying the surrounding area and blasting Vergil and Nero through the air. Trish fired off a blast of lightning, but Mephisto deflected it with the Spear, before striking her with a beam of crystal. She fell down, blood running from the injury, as Celeste threw the glaives at Mephisto. He knocked them aside, before hurling a fireball that threw Celeste through the air

"Come on, you son of a bitch," Vergil said, getting up, "Let's go"

He lunged at Mephisto, swinging Yamato, but Mephisto smacked Yamato aside, before grabbing Vergil by the throat and lifting him up with ease. At that minute, a car engine roared, before being revved, as a deep red Lamborghini Murchielago came flying around the corner, before roaring towards Mephisto and ramming into him, taking out the surrounding Valkyries, before hitting a bump and soaring up into the air, with Mephisto still on the bonnet. He growled and went to push the Lamborghini away, before seeing Dante in the driver's seat. His jaw dropped in surprise, as Dante grinned and flipped him the bird, then suddenly appeared on the bonnet, kicking Mephisto in the face and flipping over the car, then placing both feet onto the boot and kicking hard, forcing the Lamborghini towards the ground, crushing Mephisto and exploding, as Dante landed on the ground with a smirk

"And that's how you do it!"

"Dante?" Vergil said in disbelief, "I can't believe it – oh my god, you're alive!"

"That's right, bro, I'm alive. I'm back in the saddle, ready to kick some ass"

Mephisto stepped out of the flames, an angry look on his face as Memnoch joined him

"I thought you said Dante was dead!"

"It appears he has been resurrected"

"Well then, guess we'll have to raise Ragnorak earlier than expected"

Mephisto and Memnoch then disappeared, teleporting to the roof of the tower

"Well then," Dante said, looking up at them, "Let's get started"

†††††††††††


	18. Awakening

†††††††††††

"Dad!"

Dante and Vergil whirled around, as Jenny flung herself into her father's arms. He smiled, holding her close to him, as tears ran down her face. Dante ran his hand lovingly through Jenny's hair, as she broke away from the hug

"Hey, Dad"

Dante moved away from his daughter, before pulling his son into a hug, as Trish soon arrived, wrapping her arms around both her son and husband, as Jenny joined in. Vergil stood back and smiled as he watched the reunion, before suddenly drawing Yamato, reversing it and stabbing a Hell Vanguard through the throat

"I think it's time we moved things along," he said

Dante moved away from his family, before heading towards the tower, as Vergil joined him. Together, they entered the tower, the interior having completely changed suddenly in the time that Mephisto had risen. It looked like he had given the tower his very own touch of decoration, changing it to gothic style architecture

"Well, here we go," Dante said

He and Vergil headed towards the stairs, when there came the sound of a chainsaw roaring, as a majini lunged out of the darkness, swinging his chainsaw. Dante and Vergil leapt out of the way, as the latter kicked the majini in the face

"You keep going, Dante," Vergil said, "I'll handle him"

Dante continued on, entering another room, finding Memnoch there, sword in hand. Dante grinned and drew Excalibur, resting the tip of the blade on the ground

"So, you're alive once again," Memnoch said, "Pretty impressive"

"Helps if you've got a friend who used to be the Goddess of Death. But hey, enough with the chitchat. Let's just get to why we're here"

Memnoch nodded his agreement, before stabbing his sword into the ground, then removing his upper armour and helmet, tossing it into a pile nearby, then picking up his sword and flaring his wings, as Dante smirked, before Dashing forward, swinging Excalibur, as Memnoch swung his sword upwards, deflecting Excalibur, then slashing wide, but Dante jumped back, before swinging Excalibur, as Memnoch dodged and swung at his head. Ducking under the blade, Dante slashed, but Memnoch blocked, before raising his hand, charging up energy. Dante was quicker, jamming Ebony against Memnoch's palm and blasting a bullet through his hand. Memnoch retreated, growling in pain, as Dante struck with a Stinger, the blade extending out and throwing Memnoch through the air. He hit the ground once, flipping up into the air and spreading his wings, before firing a blast of energy. Dante leapt up into the air, as Memnoch fired laser beams. Dante blocked with Excalibur, but the beams knocked him back down to the ground, but he quickly flipped up onto his feet

Meanwhile, Vergil had decapitated the Chainsaw Majini, as more chainsaws revved up. Looking around, Vergil watched as four Chainsaw Majinis stepped out of the darkness, all looking the same except for their pants: one was wearing red pants, another wearing blue pants, a third with purple pants and a fourth with yellow pants. Snickering as a majini came at him, Vergil slashed him across the stomach with Yamato, before summoning Hellebore and ramming it through the Purple Majini's chest. He roared in pain, the flames licking his skin, as Vergil tore the sword away, spinning around and deflecting a chainsaw, then killing Yellow Pants, before spinning around and shooting a fireball at Blue Pants. He cried out, as Vergil used the opportunity to slice him in half. Sighing, Vergil was about to head off after Dante when a deeper chainsaw rang out. Turning around, he watched as someone stepped out of the shadows. He wore a dirty apron and a potato sack over his head, while carrying a chainsaw with dual blades set on fire

"Oh, this could be fun," Vergil muttered

Dante struck the wall, but pushed off, shooting away with Ebony and Ivory, as Memnoch spread his wings, flying away from the hail of bullets, as Dante did an Air Hike, followed by an Air Dash, getting closer to Memnoch and firing off his shotgun. Memnoch blocked the buckshot with his sword, as Dante teleported closer and brought Excalibur down overhead. Memnoch blocked, before kicking Dante back towards the ground. He landed on his feet, summoning Artemis and charging energy into the barrel, then firing off a shot that split into six energy balls, all converging onto Memnoch. He allowed the energy shots to hit him, absorbing them and firing a large beam of energy. Dante Dashed out of the way, before throwing Excalibur, striking Memnoch and bringing him down. As soon as Memnoch landed, Dante was upon him, letting loose with his Dance Macabre move, slashing and slicing, before finishing up with three Drive blows, blasting Memnoch through the air. He slammed into the wall and fell onto one knee, his hand clutching at the wounds on his chest

"Damn you, Dante," Memnoch growled, "You have gotten stronger"

"Well, I did have this shoved into me," Dante replied, waving Excalibur

"That may be, but you won't defeat me!"

He rose to his feet, shooting off three laser beams, which Dante dodged, before spreading his wings and flying in to attack. Dante ran towards him and at the last second, did a flying kick, before pushing off and flipping over Memnoch, kicking him between his wing joints and face-planting him into the ground. Landing and turning around, Dante started laughing as Memnoch got up and whirled around

"That is not funny!"

"Sure it is"

Memnoch's eyes flashed blue, before turning red, as he fired two laser beams, but Dante leapt out of the way, before blocking an energy blast. Landing on his feet, Dante ducked under Memnoch's sword, before delivering a palm strike and discharging the absorbed energy, blasting Memnoch into the air, then quickly raced after him, summoning Gilgamesh and leaping up. Using his Quicksilver ability, Dante slowed down time, allowing him to charge energy up into his armoured boots. The spurs spun around rapidly with red energy, as Dante allowed time to resume normal pace and he delivered a powerful kick to Memnoch's chest, smashing him into the ground. Memnoch groaned and started to get up, but Dante landed and stabbed him through the chest with Excalibur

"Not this time, Memnoch," Dante said, "This time, I win"

He removed Excalibur and turned away, sheathing the sword, as Memnoch groaned, before getting to his feet. He went to raise his sword, but the Spear of Azazel suddenly appeared out of his chest, as Dante whirled around, drawing Excalibur. Mephisto appeared, withdrawing the Spear and dropping Memnoch to the ground

"You are weak!" he barked at the son of Mundus, "I actually thought you would be a worthy soldier. I mean, you even killed Dante, but you couldn't even do that right! Look at him. He's alive and he's defeated you. I have no more use for you"

"So, I guess you're Mephisto," Dante said, "Now that we've been properly introduced, let's get down to the ass-kicking part"

"Your time will come," Mephisto said, "But not now"

He turned away and disappeared from sight, as Vergil arrived, a bloodied Yamato in hand. He flicked the blood off and sheathed it, as Memnoch coughed up blood, attracting the twins' attention. Dante moved to his side, lifting Memnoch into a more comfortable position, as Vergil could only watch

"You have to stop him," Memnoch coughed, "He will raise Ragnorak…and destroy the world as you know it"

"Why do you care?" Vergil asked coldly, "It's what you wanted?"

"My master has disowned me," Memnoch replied, "I have served him for three thousand years, even disowning my father and yet, my master has cast me aside like I'm nothing to him…after all that I've done for him"

"Well, I don't know how we're gonna defeat Mephisto," Dante said, "Any ideas?"

"First, you have to stop Ragnorak. Then, you can defeat Mephisto"

"Yeah, how? All of us are powerful, but it's not enough against him"

"Take my power, Dante. Wear my armour. It will give you the strength you need to defeat Mephisto," Memnoch choked, "Do it. Only you can stop him"

"Are you crazy?" Dante said, "You think your armour can help stop Mephisto?"

"Did you know that you and I are blood related? Your great grandfather is my uncle. My father had killed his brother and forced his son to become a servant whilst young"

"You have got to be kidding me," Vergil said, "I'm related to Mundus?"

"Dante, it was an honour to fight you," Memnoch said, "I'm sorry I killed you"

"Hey, no hard feelings," Dante said, "I'm back, alive and kicking"

Memnoch smiled slightly, before closing his eyes. His body glowed, before dissolving into a ball of white light and hovering before Dante, as he reached for it

"Dante, you sure you know what you're doing?" Vergil asked

"Not really. But I'm saving the world here, Vergil"

Dante grabbed the ball of light, as it shot towards his chest. He groaned, holding the ball as it shot out bolts of light, striking Memnoch's discarded armour and bringing it over to Dante, before being attached to his body. A black chest plate appeared, with ringed armour around his lower torso to give him flexibility, as ringed armour also appeared on his neck. Clawed gauntlets appeared, along with black armoured boots, while a facemask appeared, covering Dante's mouth and nose, his blue eyes turning red, as a pair of black jet-like wings spread out from his back, ending in points, two spikes appearing on the wing joints, running up and down Dante's back. Shoulder guards appeared, as Excalibur was held up by the bolts of light, splinting into Sparda and Linkin, the former getting attached to Dante's right gauntlet, while Linkin was fused to his left gauntlet. The transformation was complete and Dante felt a wave of power inside him, making him feel dizzy and euphoric at the huge amount of power

"Let's rock!"

"Dante!" cried Wesker, bursting into the room, "Now we finish this!"

** †††††††††††**


	19. The Final Battle Begins

†††††††††††

"I'll see you guys outside," Vergil said

He left the tower, as Wesker cracked his neck. Dante got into a stance, as Wesker lashed out with his right arm. Leaping out of the way, Dante flew towards Wesker, slashing him with Linkin, before ducking under Wesker's left arm and punching him with Sparda. Wesker growled and swung, but Dante moved around, grabbing his arm, before twisting it, then striking Wesker in the face with his own fist

"Stop hitting yourself, stop hitting yourself," Dante cried

He kicked Wesker in the stomach, before dislocating his left arm. Wesker cried out, before whirling around with his right arm, but Dante caught his arm, before jamming Artemis into his face and firing an energy shot, blasting half of Wesker's face off. He cried out, swinging his arm, but Dante did a barrel roll under his arm, before charging energy into his wings, then straightening and releasing the charge, blasting Wesker through the wall and outside the tower. Dante stepped outside, as Wesker lay motionless nearby, before looking up at the top of the tower. The ground shook violently, as the top of the tower was sheared away, revealing a large stone tower that rose up high into the sky. A smaller, thinner stone structure rose up from the centre of this stone tower, reaching into the clouds above, as Vergil joined his twin

"That's Ragnorak," he said, "Mephisto will use that to destroy the world"

"Not on my watch," Dante said

"You may be all powerful now, but even still-"

"Talk to Lucia. She might know a way. Grab Nero while you're at it"

Vergil headed off, as Dante spread his wings, before shooting off towards Ragnorak. Bloodgoyles flew down towards Dante, but he fired off a shot with Artemis, turning them to stone, then spinning around with Sparda and Linkin stretched out, shattering the Bloodgoyles into a thousand stone pieces. Flying higher, Dante summoned Artemis, before charging up energy into the barrel, then shooting towards Mephisto. He was too engrossed in raising Ragnorak to notice Dante was diving in until too late. Dante slammed into Mephisto, moving him away from Ragnorak, then spun around and fired the charged shot into Ragnorak. The energy shot sizzled inside Ragnorak, before exploding, destroying the massive snake-like structure, as Dante and Mephisto tumbled back towards the tower. The stone tower began sliding away, as Dante and Mephisto crash-landed, before flipping up onto their feet

"That looks new," Mephisto said

"You like it? It's the latest fashion"

"I can't believe you have just destroyed Ragnorak. Ten thousand years of planning – all gone to waste! Because of you!"

"Sorry," Dante said

"Now you will die!"

Mephisto held up the Spear of Azazel, as one end got larger and thicker, as two blades appeared at the hilt, stretching upwards alongside the main blade. At that moment, Wesker suddenly appeared on top of the stone tower, all of his injuries having been healed. Dante stood back, getting into a stance and working out a strategy

"Yes, let's see how flashy you can be now," Mephisto smirked

Wesker moved in, as Mephisto spread his wings and flew in with astonishing speed. Dante deflected Wesker's bladed arm and slashed him across the face with Linkin, before spinning around and kicking Mephisto in the face, then bringing Sparda down overhead. Mephisto blocked with the Spear, as Dante swung Linkin upwards, trapping the Spear, but Mephisto twisted it and yanked it away, as Dante moved back, slashing Wesker across the back, before ducking under his arm and slicing upwards. Wesker cried out, the deep cut on his torso slowly healing, as Dante kicked him aside, before drawing Ebony and Ivory, spraying a hail of bullets at Mephisto. He created a shield of energy, as Dante summoned Cerberus, slamming the rods into the ground and creating a trail of icicles that surrounded Mephisto's shield, as Wesker lunged, slashing with his bladed arm. Dante flew out of the way, shooting Wesker in the back of the head with Artemis, before landing and quickly grabbing hold of his shoulder, plunging Linkin through his back, his hand ripping out Wesker's deep orange heart. Wesker gritted his teeth in pain, as Dante removed his hand, before whirling Wesker around and shooting him in the face with the shotgun, blasting him off the tower

"Dante!!" Wesker shouted as he fell

Vergil looked up from his fighting to see Wesker falling through the air. Smirking, he summoned the Phantom Cannon, before taking careful aim and pulling the trigger. The lava ball hurtled through the air, slamming into Wesker and exploding, sending his shredded remains burning towards the ground. Meanwhile, back atop the tower, Dante spun around in the air several times, slashing with both swords, as Memnoch backed up, before firing a blast of black energy. Dante blocked with the swords, then Dashed in, smacking the Spear aside, before slashing with Linkin, then using Artemis to fire the black energy back into Mephisto, throwing him into the air. Mephisto flared his wings, as Dante flew up at him and brought both swords down overhead, as Mephisto brought the Spear up to block

†††††††††††

"Okay, so what the hell are we going to do with this?" Nero asked

He and Lucia were at the mausoleum where Dante had been resurrected, standing before the tank of nuclear energy. Lucia was busy going through the heap of junk she had brought over to the mausoleum, as Nero continued staring at the tank

"Well, I figured that since this amount was enough to kill Dante," Lucia said, "Maybe we could use it to destroy Mephistopheles"

"And how are we going to get that lot inside him?"

"By making something up that could shoot it"

"Oh, like a rifle or something?"

"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of a cannon or a bazooka. Any ideas?"

Nero looked at the tank, before turning to the junk, as an idea came to mind

"Sure do. Let's get started"

†††††††††††

Celeste decapitated a Bloody Mary, as a Scarecrow leapt at her. Moving to the side, Celeste sliced with Freyja, disembowelling the Scarecrow as soon as it landed, before blocking a Valkyrie and charging energy into Freyja, then pushing back and slashing wide, the energy beam slicing through the Valkyrie. Jenny smashed ten Goatlings all over the place with Kraken, before having to dodge a Bianco Angelo, as two Valkyries flew in. Swinging Rebellion, Jenny blocked the Valkyries, before breaking away and spinning around, deflecting the Bianco Angelo's lance, before striking with a Stinger, then turning back to the Valkyries, avoiding their attacks and quickly slicing them through. The Bianco Angelo came back at her, but she leapt into the air, stabbing Rebellion through the Angelo's head

Tristan slashed a Vunemuse across the chest, before impaling it in the head, then removing Vengeance and dodging a Sylverwulf, whipping out a handgun and shooting it in the back of the head, as a Hell Baron lunged at him, throwing energy blasts. Tristan leapt out of the way, shooting with his handguns, before landing and moving in, slicing upwards, but the Hell Baron caught Vengeance and punched him through the air, taking out a Hell Envy. Groaning, Tristan got to his feet, before ducking under the Hell Baron's fist and stabbing it in the chest. The Hell Baron growled, before grabbing Tristan and tossing him through the air, then removed Vengeance from its body and dropped the sword aside. Tristan groaned and got to his feet, before spinning around and leaping away from the Executioner's axe

†††††††††††

Mephisto slashed, but Dante blocked and kicked, before slashing Sparda and Linkin in a windmill fashion, but Mephisto blocked, before flying back and launching a fireball. Dante sliced through the fireball, then extending Linkin out into a spear, but Mephisto deflected the blade, before flying in and bringing the Spear down overhead, as Dante formed Sparda into a scythe and slashed, knocking Mephisto down. He teleported away from Dante, gathering black energy into his hands, then unleashing bolts of lightning at Dante. He spread his wings, flying into the air to avoid the bolts, then charged up white energy into his hands, before blasting it at Mephisto. He leapt out of the way, but Dante came spiralling towards him in a vortex, slamming into him and flying off the tower edge, before kicking Mephisto in the stomach. He drew the Spear, flaring his wings and slashing, but Dante blocked, using his weight to slam into Mephisto and smash through a stained glass window, flying into the large room of the tower, striking the floor and bouncing a few times before parting and getting into stances

"Now, we end this!" Mephisto snarled

"Yeah, we do," Dante replied

†††††††††††


	20. Dante vs Mephisto

†††††††††††

A demon was flung into the power lines, short circuiting the transformer and blowing it up. Trish fired a bolt of lightning, using it to channel the energy from the transformer into herself, then unleashing a massive shockwave of lightning, electrocuting demons in a ten metre radius. However, the move left her drained, as an Executioner swung its massive axe at her. However, Yamato appeared in the way, blocking the blow, as Vergil pushed the Executioner back, before leaping at the Executioner and spinning around like a corkscrew, slicing through the Executioner and reducing it to several large bloody chunks of flesh, as Trish got to her feet

"Feeling better?" Vergil asked

"Getting there," Trish replied, "Look out!"

Vergil whirled around as a Hell Baron slammed its fist into his head, knocking him aside, as Trish fired a blast of lightning. It had no effect on the Hell Baron, as it snarled and lunged at her, swinging its fists. Quickly drawing the Thunder Blade, Trish drove the sword upwards, impaling the Hell Baron through the chest, then charging up the sword and releasing a shock of electricity. The Hell Baron squirmed, as Trish then flung the body aside, as Vergil got to his feet and blocked a Valkyrie. Yamato glowed purple, as Vergil sliced through the Valkyrie's sword, the top half of the Valkyrie's body then sliding away from its bottom half. Another Valkyrie flew down, bearing an axe, as Vergil leapt over the Valkyrie, before impaling it through the back, then striking Yamato on the ground, sending a wave of spikes to impale three Abyss Goatlings through the chest

"Nice one," Trish said, before cutting down a Bianco Angelo

†††††††††††

Dante fired a blast of energy, which Mephisto countered with a fireball, before swinging the Spear, shooting three spears of crystal. Dante batted them aside, then flipped over the bolt of black energy, before shooting with Ebony and Ivory. Mephisto created a shield of crystal to stop the bullets, before driving the Spear into the ground, creating a wave of sharp crystal that raced towards Dante. He spread his wings, leaping over them, but was then struck down by a fireball, as Mephisto suddenly appeared before him, stabbing with the Spear. Dante blocked, but the blow knocked him across the room. Rolling back onto his feet, Dante quickly brought Sparda and Linkin upwards to block Mephisto's Helm Breaker. Breaking away, Dante then performed his Million Stab move with swords, before finishing off with a dual Stinger, the blades extending out and blasted Mephisto across the room

"You've got the moves," Mephisto said, "You've got the power?"

Dante simply responded by firing with the grenade launcher. Mephisto batted the grenade aside, before teleporting before Dante and slashing, but Dante blocked, before spinning around and punching him in the back with Linkin. Mephisto growled and whirled around with the Spear, but Dante ducked and punched him in the ribs with Sparda, before slicing at his head. Mephisto ducked, before launching a backflip kick that knocked Dante away. He landed on his feet, before shooting two lasers from his eyes, which Mephisto deflected, as he then raised his hand to the air, creating black clouds and sending down bolts of black lightning, several of them striking Dante and batting him around, as a fireball slammed into his chest, taking him down

"Ouch," Dante said, getting up, "That one tickled. Got any more?"

"How about this!"

Mephisto spread his wings and flew into the air, as black clouds appeared behind him. Black lightning bolts flashed throughout the room, as a large orb of black energy appeared. Flames soon surrounded it, as Mephisto increased the size of the orb by ten times, before firing it at Dante. He caught the orb, struggling to hold it off, as Mephisto created spikes of crystal beneath Dante, distracting him as the orb exploded, blasting a large area of the tower

"What the hell was that?" Jenny asked, a Scarecrow impaled on Rebellion

Dante shook his head, getting up from the rubble and whirling around, coating Sparda and Linkin with red energy, as Mephisto came flying out. Flicking his wrists, Dante fired the energy, forming an 'X', but Mephisto flew over the 'X', before raising his hand, as flames erupted from the cracks in the ground, incinerating any demon standing nearby, as Mephisto landed on the ground

"Dad, what the hell has happened to you?" Tristan asked

"Let's just say that Daddy's got an upgrade," Dante replied

Mephisto flew at Dante, as he summoned Cerberus and leapt over Mephisto, before wrapping one chain around his neck, then the other two chains around his arms. Standing on Mephisto's back, Dante held the ring that connected the chains, then yanked back hard, pulling Mephisto upwards into the air. He growled, trying to throw Dante off, but he laughed and yelled out, while directing Mephisto through the air

"Yee-hah!" Dante shouted

"I never though I'd see the day where the King of Demons would be used as a bucking bronco," Vergil said

"Me neither," a Hell Baron agreed

Vergil nodded, sharing a mutual nod with the Hell Baron, before realizing who he was talking to, then unsheathed Yamato and slashed wide, as the Hell Baron threw an energy blast. Michael grabbed a Valkyrie with the Angel Bringer, before doing a hammer toss and throwing it across the street, taking out a Mega Scarecrow. Trish sliced a Goatling into the air and held it there with lightning bolts, frying the demon, before smacking a Spicere aside, as it floated away and exploded. Tristan spun Anubis around, destroying several Marionettes, reducing them to splinters, then lunged at a Plutonian, driving Vengeance through its skull. A Death Scythe slashed at Jenny, as she deflected the blade, then fired ten daggers into the Death Scythe's skull, pulling it to the ground and crushing its skull beneath her boot, as a Death Scissors did a corkscrew spin at her. Dodging the scissors, Jenny summoned her swordstaff and sliced upwards, decapitating the Death Scissors

Celeste stabbed a Frost through the chest with Freyja, then slammed it against a Dullahan, impaling that as well, whilst shattering its gem, then kicked the Frost off her sword and slicing it in half at the shoulder. Cameron swung the Flame Staff into the Homomsira, setting it on fire, then whirled around, smacking a Goatling in the face, before telekinetically blasting it across the street. A Noctpteran flew down at Cameron, flapping dust at him, but he telekinetically threw a dead tree at the demon, impaling it through the torso with the sharp branches. Deflecting the Hell Vanguard's scythe, Lili shot forward with blinding speed, appearing behind the demon, as it burst into dust. Moving on, Lili then sliced upwards on a Hell Envy, before dodging a Hell Gluttony's scythe and slicing it in half. A Hell Wrath walked towards her, but Lili kicked it back into a group of Scarecrows, then rapidly fired off several phantom swords into the Wrath's bomb, exploding it and killing all the Scarecrows. James impaled a Vunemuse with a flame-coated Envy, before cutting down a Syvlerwulf, then leaping over an Arachne, before summoning a tower of flames beneath the spider demon, setting it on fire. The Arachne screeched, as James smacked an Abyss aside, before blocking an Assault and slicing it open

†††††††††††

"How's it coming along?" Lucia asked

"Okay, I think I've got something," Nero replied, "Yep, I'm getting somewhere"

Holding the small tube in his left hand, Nero was using his Dark Bringer to remove the nuclear energy from the tank, then feeding it into the tube. A large hand cannon was sitting on the bench before him, with two circular handles and an ammo counter. Lucia was standing by the mausoleum door, keeping guard as Nero continued his work. Once he had placed all the nuclear energy into the tube, Nero then sealed the tube off, before placing it down the cannon's barrel, then flicking the machine on. The ammo counter lit up, as the machine whirred to life

"Excellent," Nero said, "I think I've got it"

"That's great. Now we have a chance of defeating Mephisto," Lucia said

"Yeah, but we've only got one shot. I know Dante's excellent with any type of firearm, but Mephisto is a tricky bugger"

"We should get going. Dante's gonna be needing it right about now"

"Hang on, hang on. I've got to name it first"

Lucia sighed and crossed her arms, waiting for Nero, who had a thoughtful look on his face. Then, his face lit up when he finally came up with a name

"Got it! I'm calling it…the Redeemer"

Lucia simply had a bored and irritated look on her face

"Nice dramatic effect there, Nero. Are all the sons of Sparda this dramatic?"

"No"

"Come on then, let's go"

Together, they left the mausoleum, heading back to the tower and the battle at hand

†††††††††††


	21. The Fight Continues

**Instead of drawing this out further, I thought I might just add the final three chapters right now**

†††††††††††

A Hell Baron roared and began charging energy up into its fist, before drawing its fist back to fire the blast, only for Dante to leap up and slice its arm off, then bring both swords down through the Hell Baron, slicing it in half. Two Valkyries flew in for the attack, as Dante blocked them both, before shoving them back, then slicing one Valkyrie in half at the waist, before blasting the other Valkyrie's chest out with an energy-charged shotgun. Another Valkyrie flew in, swinging its axe, but Dante whirled around, blocking the blow, then kicking the Valkyrie's leg out, bringing it to its knees, before shoving Sparda through the Valkyrie's head. Fire blew up from the cracks like geysers, as purple lightning flashed through the air

"It's getting all kinds of crazy out here," Celeste said

She ducked the Executioner's axe and sliced it across the stomach, moving behind the majini, then stabbing it in the back. The Executioner roared and spun around, swinging the axe, but Celeste leapt back out of the way, before throwing an energy blast that blew the Executioner's head apart, as another Executioner appeared. Vergil blocked a Valkyrie's moves, before finally getting through an opening and stabbing it in the chest. Four more Valkyries landed, surrounding Vergil, as flames appeared around his left hand. He swung, as Hellebore appeared and ripped through one Valkyrie. The other three Valkyries attacked at once, but Vergil tore them apart with skill and ease, before seeing a Ndesu hulking before him

Mephisto flattened the Spear out, before heading towards Dante. Tristan lunged, swinging the Devil Wings, but Mephisto blocked, before backhanding him, followed up by a spinning kick that threw Tristan through the air. Lili appeared, slashing with Yitoma, but Mephisto blocked all her moves and smacked her aside, as Dante whirled around with Ebony and Ivory, shooting a hail of bullets. Mephisto spun the Spear around rapidly, deflecting the bullets, as Dante suddenly appeared before him. Blocking both swords, Mephisto threw him aside, then fired a volley of sharp crystals. Dante shattered them with his handguns as he flew back, before landing on his feet and summoning Artemis, then charging energy into the barrel

"Come on, hit me with your best shot," Mephisto said

"That line will never be the same again," Dante retorted

He aimed Artemis and fired the shot. It split into six energy balls, taking out five Mega Scarecrows by tunnelling through their torsos, while the main shot spiralled towards Mephisto. Just before he could block it, an icicle appeared, knocking the energy ball away. Dante lowered Artemis, before looking at Maverick

"Finally decided to join in, huh?"

Maverick created a large sword out of ice and got into a stance

"Well then, shall we?"

Dante got into a stance, as Maverick teleported in a hail of ice, swinging his sword, but Dante blocked and shoved him aside, before deflecting the Spear and kicking Mephisto in the ribs, then whirling around and dodging the icicles from Maverick, then blasting him with Ebony, before ducking away from Mephisto's slash and drawing Ivory. Mephisto knocked his arm aside and fired an energy blast into his chest, throwing him back, before dodging the laser beams. Maverick created a tower of icicles and threw it at Dante, but he impaled it with both swords, before shattering it and using his telekinesis to fire the shards back at Maverick. Mephisto flew into the air, before firing several black energy blasts, as Dante flew into the air, gathering energy on Sparda and Linkin, then unleashing a huge energised 'X', firing it towards Mephisto. He sliced through the 'X', launching a beam of crystal surrounded in flames, as Dante kicked them all aside, displaying excellent aerial skills

James launched a series of fireballs, incinerating Bloodgoyles and Puias, as Bianco and Alto Angelos flew down, getting into ranked formations, then marching forward, while the Valkyries flew overhead, waiting for their time to rejoin the battle. Jenny sliced a Scarecrow in half, then spun away from a Pride's scythe, before blocking an Envy and kicking it back, then impaling the Pride through the chest. Tristan sliced through with a Gbumsira, then ducked under a Blood Goatling's fist, before driving both Devil Wings into its torso and throwing the demon aside. Lili tore her sword away from an Assault, before smacking a Basilisk's head back at the body, blowing it up. Michael had managed to disarm a Blitz demon and was currently pummelling it with his hands and fists, then punching it away with his Devil Bringer, while his brother used his telekinesis to throw a Mega Scarecrow like a Frisbee at a group of Hell Sloth demons, slicing them to shreds. Trish impaled a Scarecrow with its own leg blade and kicked it aside, before firing a lightning bolt at a flying Syvlerwulf, as Celeste set a Valkyrie on fire, before encasing an Alto Angelo in ice, then shattering it into a thousand pieces. Meanwhile, Vergil dodged the Ndesu's fist and leapt up, slashing it across the face, as the Ndesu howled and fell onto one knee, clutching its face, as a giant centipede-like creature burst out of its back. Vergil leapt onto the Ndesu's back and sliced the centipede in half, as the Ndesu howled and collaped

Dante deflected the Spear and kicked Maverick, before stabbing Mephisto in the leg, then punching him in the back with Linkin, knocking him away, before spinning around and slicing Maverick across the face, then levelled the grenade launcher and fired. Maverick flew through the air, as the grenade exploded and he bounced several times, ice appearing on his body to heal the wounds, as a shadow fell over him

"Lili?"

She didn't answer; instead, she rammed Yitoma through Maverick's chest, impaling him through the heart. He groaned, clutching at the sword as Lili pulled it away, blood dripping from the blade as Maverick groaned and fell onto one side

"So…you thaw my heart…only to destroy it?" he asked

"I'm not sorry about this," Lili replied

Maverick smiled, as his body froze over, before cracking, then shattering into a thousand pieces. Lili watched as the flames melted the pieces, before she spun around and dodging a Hell Knight, then leaping over it and slashing, splitting its head open

"Give me your face!" Dante cried

Dodging the Spear, he grabbed Mephisto by the face and lifted him up, then slammed him into the ground, before running along and flinging Mephisto into the air, then kicked him in the chest, before quickly drawing the shotgun and firing. Mephisto flew through the air, spinning around and landing on his feet, as Dante lunged. Stepping back, Mephisto stabbed, before spinning around and striking with the Spear, but Dante caught it and spun around, stabbing Mephisto through the chest with the Spear. He tore the Spear away from Dante's hands and struck him with a fireball, then removed the Spear and formed it into a sword, before lunging at Dante and slashing. He blocked, breaking away and stabbing with Linkin, extending the blade out, but Mephisto dodged the blade, slashing with the Spear, as Dante blocked with Sparda. Mephisto kicked him in the stomach, then punched him in the face, before slashing him across the chest. However, the move didn't leave a dent in the armour, as Dante fired twin energy blasts, shooting Mephisto through the air

"Hey, Dante!"

Dante looked around, seeing Nero and Lucia coming towards him. Nero was carrying a large hand cannon; a grin plastered on his face and Dante instantly knew then that Nero had just built a weapon that he could use to destroy Mephisto. Apparently, Mephisto had also worked it out, as he flew at Nero and stabbed him in the stomach with the Spear, then flung him aside, before backhanding Lucia to the ground and striking her with an energy blast. Dante flew at Mephisto, slamming into him and flying up into a building. They exited on the other side, as the building came crashing down. Kicking Dante away, Mephisto fired an energy blast that electrocuted Dante, sending him flying back towards the ground. He hit hard and bounced twice, but ended up landing on his feet, as Vergil joined him

"How's it going?"

"Getting there," Dante replied, "Get to Nero. He's got something I need. Also, we need a way to get rid of the Valkyries. They're his personal army. Take them out and we've crippled him, giving us a chance"

"I think I'm gonna need the Spear of Azazel," Vergil said

"That can be arranged"

Spreading his wings, Dante took to the sky, before flying at Mephisto. He began spinning around like a corkscrew, slamming into Mephisto and grabbing hold of him, then flying down and slamming him into a building roof, before shooting him in the head at point blank range with Artemis. Mephisto growled, using his telekinesis to throw Dante off, then spun around, throwing an energy blast that knocked him into the sky. Spreading his wings, Mephisto flew at Dante, bringing the Spear around, but Dante blocked, before turning Sparda into a scythe and slashing. Mephisto roared in pain as his right hand, clutching the Spear, flew back to the ground. Vergil picked up the weapon, before shooting phantom swords at the Valkyries. Once they saw him and what he was holding, they all flew at him, but Vergil Devil Triggered and flew away. Meanwhile, Mephisto hit Dante with a fireball, before knocking him to the ground with an energy blast, then landing on the ground, as his body started glowing

"You stopped me from raising Ragnorak," Mephisto growled, "Well, luckily for me, I've got an extra trick up my sleeve. I promise you, I will destroy this world!"

The light covered his entire body, blinding everyone in the vicinity and he began to change, as everyone stood back and watched

†††††††††††


	22. The Redeemer

†††††††††††

Vergil flew through the air, heading towards the island, as the whole horde of Valkyries pursued him. One flew up in front of him, but Vergil drew Yamato and sliced through the Valkyrie, before continuing on his journey, as more Valkyries surrounded him. Vergil covered himself in a large energy orb, before teleporting amongst the Valkyries, leaving dimensional slashes and severed Valkyrie parts in his wake. Creating a criss-cross of dimensional slashes to delay the Valkyries, Vergil continued on towards the island, reaching the tower just as a Valkyrie slammed into him. They smashed through a window and struck the far wall, as Vergil pushed back and spun around, slashing Yamato slice. The Valkyrie fell away in two halves, as Vergil quickly headed towards the gate, as a huge section of the wall was blasted away and Valkyries began piling in, all flashing their weapons

"Well, this is gonna be fun," Vergil muttered

†††††††††††

Mephisto started changing. At first, his head grew to twice its normal size, making him look comical for a moment, but then the rest of his body caught up and he started growing larger. Dante and the others stepped back, craning their heads to watch as Mephisto grew to giant size, overlooking a remaining skyscraper. He smiled and ploughed a fist through the skyscraper, bringing it crashing down in a cloud of dust and glass, before laughing, his laugh shaking the entire island

"That's one big boy," Dante said, "What's your mama been feeding you?"

**"I feel so strong! So powerful!"** Mephisto boomed, **"I can crush the entire world within one hand! Nothing can stop me!!"**

"Hey you!" Dante shouted, "Down here!"

Mephisto frowned and looked down at Dante, before grinning and raising his massive foot over him, as Dante engaged Sparda and Linkin

"You better not hit me with that foot-"

CRASH!!

Mephisto's foot had come crashing down, crushing Dante completely. However, his foot started rising, as Dante groaned and removed his swords from Mephisto's sole, then quickly ducked out as his foot came crashing down again. Meanwhile, Trish and Celeste were helping Nero to his feet, as he groaned and staggered about, before straightening, his jaw dropping at the sight of the Saviour-size Mephisto

"Holy crap"

Dante fired twin energy beams, but they had no effect on Mephisto, as he created a giant ball of fire and hurled it. Everyone dodged out of the way, as the fireball slammed into the ground and exploded, creating a huge hole in the island, as buildings were demolished, sending up clouds of dust as glass and smoked steel rained down

"Nero, good to see you up and about," Dante cried

"Yeah, you too, bro," Nero said, "Here, I've got something for you"

He held up the Redeemer, as Dante cocked an eyebrow

"What is it exactly?"

"I call it the Redeemer. It's a cannon that fires a rocket, which contains all the nuclear energy that Lucia drained out of you. So, in theory, that amount that killed you should be enough to kill Mephisto. I hope. But you have one shot and one shot only"

"Gee, thanks, anything to make things harder," Dante said

He grabbed the Redeemer, as it locked into place on his forearm. Meanwhile, Mephisto began charging up a huge ball of black energy, as everyone could only watch. Dante considered firing the Redeemer then and there into the energy ball, but he felt that now wasn't the right time. Mephisto began laughing, as the ball got larger. However, at that moment, a large purple dimensional slash appeared, slicing across Mephisto's wrists. He cried out, the ball of energy collapsing upon him and driving him towards the ground, as Vergil appeared next to Dante

"How'd it go?" Dante asked

"Fine. They're all gone now"

"How did what go?" Nero asked, "Oh, you mean the Valkyries?"

"Yep, they're all locked away," Vergil replied, "And the Spear is gone"

"Where?"

"Not saying"

At that moment, Mephisto roared and rose back up onto his feet. As he did, towers of flames burst up from the fissures, burning high into the sky, as geysers of water burst up from the ocean, surrounding the island

"We gotta get out of here!" Lucia cried

Fireballs and bullets of water came raining down, smashing into the ground, as Mephisto bellowed with laughter, watching the destruction unfold before him. Any demons caught in the path were instantly obliterated, as everyone took cover

"Guys, you have to get off this island," Dante said

"What about you?" Vergil asked

"I'm staying here. I'm the only one who can stop him"

Vergil stared into his twin's red eyes, before nodding

"We're getting off this island! Come on, we gotta go!"

Dante turned back towards Mephisto, as everyone began leaving. However, Trish made her way towards him, grasping his hand. Dante turned around to face her, his mask disappearing from sight, as Trish pulled him into a hug

"Don't go doing anything stupid. I've lost you once already. I won't lose you again"

"Don't worry, babe, you won't lose me. I'll be coming back"

Dante and Trish drew back, before engaging in a passionate kiss. Meanwhile, the rest of the family were near the coast, taking the remaining boat, as Vergil stopped and looked back at the couple, watching them kiss amongst the towering flames. He smiled, as Trish broke away from Dante, before turning and heading off towards the others. Dante smiled as he watched her go, as the facemask slid back into place and he turned towards Mephisto, as a group of majinis appeared

"Party time in Fortuna"

Dante headed towards the majinis, as one swung a bottle. Dante dodged and kicked him aside, before smacking a majini aside and slicing him in half, then ducking under a majini's cattle prod and slicing his legs off, before stabbing him in the back. The other majinis surrounded Dante, as he struck one with a Stinger, then knocked another majini into the air, before kicking a majini in the stomach and rolling over his back, impaling another majini in the head with Linkin. Whirling around, Dante cut down three majinis at once, before extending Sparda out and impaling a majini, then bringing him in and taking out another majini, before spinning around and slashing both swords wide, as the last two majinis fell apart in halves. Rising, Dante looked up at Mephisto, then spread his wings and took off towards the gigantic demon. He saw Dante and grinned, before raising his hands, as parts of the island broke away and flew up towards Dante. He flew amongst the boulders, spinning and flipping, kicking off several, as well as slicing through some, before charging energy into his wings, then kicking off a boulder and discharging the energy, using it as boosters to shoot him towards Mephisto. He raised a tower of flames at Dante, who covered himself with an energy shield, before absorbing some of the flames, then spinning around, creating eight fireballs in a circle around himself, before firing them. The fireballs slammed into Mephisto's face, as he roared in annoyance. Dante engaged the Redeemer and raised it, but Mephisto grabbed him in his huge fist

**"Gonna eat you, Dante. Let's see you survive that!"**

Before Dante could do anything, he was inside Mephisto's mouth, before being forced towards the throat by his tongue. Dante flared his wings, catching himself in Mephisto's throat, as thick saliva dripped upon him

"Oh, gross!" Dante cried

Mephisto started choking, as Dante extended Linkin out, slicing through the roof of Mephisto's mouth, then climbed his way towards the large cut. However, two train-size fingers suddenly appeared, trying to grab at Dante, knocking him away from the cut, as the throat muscles constricted, forcing Dante towards the stomach

"One shot, huh?"

Dante aimed the Redeemer at the cut, using his excellent marksmanship skills to line the barrel up with the cut, which was now starting to heal. Dante smiled

"Jackpot"

He pulled the trigger, as the rocket exited the cannon and fired towards the cut, disappearing through it, then setting off a massive explosion. Meanwhile, on the main land, Vergil was staring at Fortuna Island along with everyone else, as a massive ball of light engulfed the entire island

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	23. The End

**Last chapter. And before I go, I just want to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited and alerted across the entire series. Thank you very much for making this series possible. And here is the finale. Once again, thank you and farewell**

†††††††††††

Dante groaned and opened his eyes, before squinting from the glare of the sun. then he realized that the sun was shining brightly against the blue sky. He groaned, feeling a massive throbbing pain in his head, as he rolled over. He opened his eyes, seeing Excalibur lying nearby. Looking down at himself, Dante saw that he was no longer wearing any of Memnoch's armour. Instead, his clothes were tattered and shredded. A few scraps of cloth were all that remained of his shirt, while his coat was missing a sleeve and a half, while bearing large shredded rips in it, while his pants were also torn. Luckily, they still covered his modesty, as Dante groaned and slowly stood up, trying to prevent the throbbing pain from getting any worse. His body was covered in cuts, lacerations and blood, as Dante picked Excalibur up and looked around. The entirety of Fortuna Island was completely destroyed beyond repair or recognition. Buildings now lay in rubble heaps, while fissures ran throughout the streets. A few remaining power lines were sparking, adding to the post-apocalyptic look

"Looks like the set of Mad Max," Dante muttered to himself

He groaned, holding a hand to his stomach, where the largest of his injuries resided and he knew that it was the same place where Memnoch had stabbed him. Just then, something moved out of the corner of his eye and Dante whirled around, getting into a stance, before groaning as his head ached. Wood and steel were shifted, as Mephisto rose up. he was back to human size, his armour gone and his pants torn as he looked around, before seeing Dante and growling, his green eyes flashing, as he held out his hand and a large black sword appeared. Despite Mephisto's look that he was ready to continue fighting, Dante could see that he was very weak from the Redeemer, black blood running from the numerous lacerations covering his body

"So then, here we are," Mephisto growled, "Just the two of us. The final battle will end here. At the end of this day, one will rise and one will fall"

"Don't I know that quote from somewhere?" Dante asked, trying to ignore the pain

"We will end this!"

"And so we shall"

Dante raised Excalibur, before running towards Mephisto. He raised his sword and began running as well. As he charged towards Mephisto, Dante had a flashback, realizing that this was very similar to the time he fought Vergil over forty years ago in the Underworld, before Vergil fell deeper and became Nelo Angelo. However, he had to discard that thought as Mephisto was nearly upon him. They raised their swords and brought them crashing down against each other, creating a shockwave that destroyed anything that wasn't nailed down. Mephisto and Dante gritted their teeth, both trying their best to overcome the other, despite their current weakened state. The friction between the two swords started to grow hot, as sparks appeared. Mephisto was forcing his sword back towards Dante, but he held his ground. He knew that in his current state, he wouldn't be able to defeat Mephisto. He knew that Mephisto was stronger still. He still had the edge –

"Once I kill you, I will destroy this world," Mephisto said, "No one can stop me. I promise this to you, Dante-"

"Get a reality check"

Dante's eyes burned red, as he summoned the last of Memnoch's power inside himself and diverting it into Excalibur. The blade began glowing fiery red with a flame-like pattern appearing. Mephisto's jaw dropped slightly as he looked into Dante's eyes and saw his fate. Dante smirked and pushed hard, slicing through Mephisto's sword with ease. Before Mephisto could do anything, Dante swung again, severing his head from his body. Mephisto's decapitated body fell to the ground, along with his head, as Dante stumbled back, Excalibur dropping from his hand. He was spent, his energy completely depleted and his head ringing with immense pain. Falling down into a seated position, Dante then fell onto his back and passed out, just as the first of the B.S.A.A helicopters flew overhead, before touching down on the war zone

†††††††††††

_One month later…_

The heart monitor beeped, as Dante slowly opened his eyes. Once his eyes were completely opened, he instantly knew he was in a hospital and inwardly groaned. Trish and Vergil looked up, before seeing that Dante was awake. Trish beamed as she got up, before moving to Dante's side, as Vergil stood on the other side of the bed

"Hey, you're awake," Trish smiled

"Appears so," Dante smiled, "How long was I out?"

"A month," Vergil replied, "Give or take"

"Wow. I must have been that worn out"

"Well, you did it, Dante. You defeated Mephisto and saved the world"

"No surprise there. So, what about Fortuna?"

"The B.S.A.A. have declared it a war zone," Trish said, "No-one's allowed near it. There are still demons roaming around there, so it's completely restricted"

"But I think we will be heading in there with Parker Kennedy and cleaning it up," Vergil said, "I've been telling Chris Redfield to hold it off until you're ready"

"Well, that's awesome because I don't want to be spending any more time in here," Dante said, "Get me out of here pronto"

Vergil smiled

"I'll go see a doctor"

He left, as Dante turned back to Trish, before sharing a smile together

"The brood are here. Wanna see them?"

"Now, please"

Trish stood up and stepped aside, as Tristan, Jenny, Ash and Caitlyn entered. The younger twins smiled and climbed up onto the bed, as Dante moved himself into a seated position and wrapped his arms around them, as Tristan and Jenny stood to the side, watching with a smile. Dante looked up at his eldest children and opened his arms. Tristan shared a look with Jenny and smiled, as Dante pulled them into a hug. Trish was watching with a smile, as Dante beckoned her to join in

"One big happy family"

Dante looked up, seeing his brothers and sister standing before the bed, along with his nieces and nephews. His children moved away as the rest of the family surrounded the bed, all chatting to each other about the recent events and Dante couldn't help but smile as he watched them interact, glad that he was alive again to be with them. And speak of the devil; Lucia was standing behind the family. Trish noticed Dante's staring, as everyone stopped talking and Lucia moved forward

"Hey, you're all better now"

"Yeah, I am. Couldn't you have woken me up earlier, with your little powers?"

"Nah, I thought I might let you rest. You needed it"

Dante shared a smile with Lucia

"Thanks for bringing me back"

"No problem"

"So, Dad, what was Heaven like?" Jenny asked, "You did go to Heaven, right?"

"To tell you the truth, honey, it was boring. It was very boring"

†††††††††††

_One week later…_

"Dante, finally out of the hospital," Vergil said

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Dante said, adjusting his coat, "So, when are we going?"

"Well, there's the problem of this gigantic demon that's risen up," Nero said, "He's completely taken over Fortuna and we need to eliminate him first"

"In case you were wondering, his name is Roxburg," Celeste added

At that moment, a massive snake-like demon rose up from the centre of Fortuna, hissing and snarling, as he flexed his large arms, his claws gleaming in the sun

**"All bow before Roxburg, the mightiest of all demons"**

"If you ask me, this guy is a bit full of himself," Dante said

"Shall we go and cut him down to size?" Vergil asked

"Hey, what did you guys wanna do after this?" Nero asked

"Get pissed!" Dante replied, "That's what I'm doing. I'm gonna get snookered"

**"Hey, don't all ignore me at once!"** Roxburg hissed with indignation

"Okay guys, giant snake's getting all lonely," Celeste said, "Let's make him happy"

"You do know how dirty that sounded, right?" Nero asked

Celeste smacked her brother on the shoulder, as Vergil and Dante chuckled

"Alright guys, let's have at it then," Dante said

Roxburg snarled, flaring his cobra hood, as Dante smiled, before drawing Excalibur

"Let's rock!"

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End file.
